Persona 4: Eyes of Truth Being Rewritten
by Phantom on Fanfiction
Summary: Hitomi Narukami wasn't expecting anything when she was forced to move in her with her relatives in the rural town of Inaba. The most that she was expecting was a usual lonely school year, just like the years before. With two recent murders left unsolved and the power of Persona, can Hitomi regain her sight and see the truth?
1. YasoInaba

3rd POV

A white tour bus drives down a road that seems to lead no where with a thick fog cloaking the surroundings. The tour bus drives at a slow pace, being cautious of anything that can jump out of the fog. Inside the tour bus, there are two passengers; sitting patiently in the silent car as if waiting for something.

Inside the tour bus, it was sparkling clean, the walls and flooring of the bus coated in blue. But unlike most tour buses that were filled with furniture, and kitchen counters; this bus was empty with a violet blue corner couch and a single white grand piano inside. The piano was sitting perfectly next to the two passengers, in perfect condition.

One of the passengers is an old man with an unusually long nose, big eyes, and an odd smile hiding behind his hands that he had tied in front of his face. The man sat by the partition window, while the other passenger sat to his left. A young woman with platinum-blonde curly hair, pale skin, dressed in violet blue that matched the colored interior of the tour bus while an old and tattered tome sat on her lap. The old man smirked to himself as his attention focused on their guest who sat across from him.

"Welcome... to the 'Velvet Room'" the old man said, his voice sounding somehow smooth; despite it's high tone.

"My, it would seem we have a guest, with an intriguing destiny!" the old man said with an amused tone as he waved his hand, displaying the Velvet Room. After a good amount of time had passed, the old man looked at the guest; showing his small pupils.

"Some Introductions! I am Igor! And I am quite please to make your acquaintance" Igor introduced, a slight chuckle escaping. The young woman next to Igor opened her eyes and looked at the guest, showing her golden eyes.

"Yes, welcome. And I will be here to accompany you on your journey on your travels. You may call me, 'Margret'" Margret introduced, her voice sounding like a twenty year old woman. Based on the way she said that sentence, their guest assumed that Margret was an assistant of Igor.

"You see, this realms exists between mind and matter. It separates dream from _reality_ " Igor began to explain. "Generally speaking, only those who have forged a contract, are allowed to enter this room. And perhaps in the very near future, such a fate will be awaiting you, as well." Igor closed his eyes for a moment before looking back over to his guest with a sly grin that caused their guest to blink in slight discomfort.

"Do you believe in fortune telling?" Igor asked as he untied his right hand from his left and hovered it on top of the small round table in front of him. A deck of cards, their backs designed with a blue and black mask. Igor waved his right hand over the table, causing the card to magically spread across the table. Igor chuckled as he noticed that his guest was stunned into silence.

"Each reading is done by the same cards, but the results are always... _Different_. Life itself fallows the same principles, doesn't it?" Igor said with a grin as he flipped a card in the upright position. It was a picture of a tower being struck by lightening, two figures falling out.

"The tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is..." Igor began as he flipped another card. It was a picture of a crescent moon that seemed to hover above a river. "The moon, in the upright position. This card represents _'hesitation'_ and _'mystery'_... Very interesting indeed." Igor looked up at his guest with a wide grin, as if he was amused by his guests misfortunate reading.

"It seems you will encounter a great misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you. In the following days, you will enter a contract of some sort, after which you will return here" Igor explained calmly, despite his slightly amused tone. He then suddenly become very serious and stared directly at his guest, causing them to also become serious.

"The coming year is a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to assure that does _not_ happen" Igor explained. He waved his hand over the table, and magically disappeared.

"Let's hope... Your journey will be quite interesting at the least. Until our paths cross again" Margret said with a momentum tone before she and Igor returned to their earlier position. The guest felt somewhat light headed as they began to lose consciousness.

* * *

Protagonist's POV

" **Why go on a diet? Enough with heading to the gym! Good thing there's something even I can handle!** " a smooth and silky voice chuckled, catching my attention. I looked over my shoulder to the television-covered wall. It was an advertisement for a drink that was supposedly so good that it slimmed you down. The owner of the smooth and silky voice was a boy who was wearing a swim trunks, around my age, with copper colored fluffy hair. He has tan skin, and sharp brown eyes.

" **Slim down this summer with the refreshing taste of Queloie Magic** " a calm and collected voice said as the boy on screen winked, a star swirling forward and shaping into the beverage product. I blinked at the screen before mentally shrugging and looked forward, waiting for the bullet train to arrive. I wasn't a big fan of fizzy drinks like soda. But I didn't hate it or don't drink it.

" **And, we're back. Now for some juicy news, the 'Mayumi-Yamano' scandal-** " a voice began. I sighed silently as I closed my eyes in slight annoyance. The Mayumi-Yamano scandal. The news won't stop talking about it. It's thanks to the news that those involved with the affair have to deal a lot with the shame and such. Please news people, leave them be. A nearby scoff catches my attention as I looked over to my right. A man and a woman stood next together, their hands locked. A couple? Well, whatever relationship they are in; the man gave a confused glare at the television wall.

"First he bangs a singer, and then he has an affair with a T.V announcer on the side? Do chicks really dig politicians?" the man huffed, a confused look on his face as he looked at the woman. The woman smiles with a raised eyebrow as she hooks an arm with his.

"Isn't it just stuff like money and connections? When you get down to it, financial and political powers are what matters" the woman teased, resting her head on his shoulder. I blinked at them as the screeching sound of metal tires pound at my ear. I readjusted my duffle bag strap and my grip on a souvenir bag I was carrying as I took a step back, using my legs that have been holding my body for an hour or so. The train's doors open as people began to flood out on the other side, like a swarm of puppies being released from a kennel. I braced myself as people began to push me forward into the trains doors. Once I settled in, I grabbed onto one of the hanging handles; seeing as how the seats were all taken. I was slightly uncomfortable, seeing as how girls in Tokyo have to be extremely cautious.

I dully stared out the window in front of me, just above the man who sat in front of me. My reflection on the mirror showed my small frame, short silver hair, gray eyes, and bored expression caused me to frown slightly. The train began to move, causing the familiar train station that I had finally gotten used to slowly began to slide to my right- escaping from my vision. I closed my eyes, feeling strangely more tired than usual as I recalled the events a few days ago... The face of my saddened parents and upset classmates sketched into my mind. I sighed silently as I rubbed the back of my head. Another year, another school, another uniform. This time for a year, which will break my longest recorded which used to be five months.

I was starting to lose count of the amount of school uniforms I've worn in the past years. All because of her. It's not like I can blame her though. All I really need to do is let go. But I know better than anyone that I can never let go. It's too painful. Especially now, seeing as how she and my parents decided to go overseas without me. Instead, I have to live with an uncle I didn't even know. I blinked in surprise as I remembered something. I gently placed my souvenir bag down on the ground between my feet as I slugged my duffel bag off my shoulder and reached into the side pockets. I pulled out my cell phone and flipped it open, searching for a particular text message.

 _Meet us outside YasoInaba Station at 4PM._

I mentally nodded as I closed my phone again, stuffing it into my side pockets of the bag. It's going to be a while since I arrive to the next train station. Might as well make a plan. Let's see... After this train, I'll need to ride another one before arriving to my destination. After that, I'll meet my uncle. He'll most likely take me straight over to his house where my stuff will be already waiting for me to unpack. If he knows how to cook, then I'll go on ahead and unpack a little. If he doesn't and ends up getting me something from a convenient store, I'll go on ahead and eat with him first then unpack. It's been a long couple of days, so I want to go to bed early tonight. Especially since school will start tomorrow. Hm... Maybe I should double check my bag before I go to bed?

"We will be arriving at YasoInaba terminal in a few minutes," a voice announced over the train's PA system, causing me to jump slightly in surprise. "Passengers heading for Inaba City and YasoInaba terminal, please move to the other side of the platform." Before I knew it, my stop had arrived. Not too surprising, seeing as how I was on the bullet train. I was already fifteen or so minutes behind my original schedule, and the last thing I wanted was someone from my family, whom I haven't even met, to go farther than planned to pick me up. I quickly grab my souvenir bag and slung my duffel bag over my shoulder once again as I fallowed the rest of the passengers. I was able to slip out of the train with ease and made my way across the cement boarding station. Thankfully, my next train was already waiting for me.

I boarded onto the next train, noticing that only a few people had followed me on board. So Inaba isn't all that popular? Hmm, now that I think about it... I haven't heard of Inaba until my mother had told me about it. That must mean that it's a rather quite little town.

To my advantage, there weren't many passengers on board which made it easy to get a seat. Once I found a good spot to sit in, I stood on my tipped toes to shove my duffel bag slightly on the overhead storage rack. I made sure that a strap was loosely hanging, so it would be easy to remove once it was time to go. Knowing that it would be impossible to take out the souvenir bag from up there, I place it down next to me and plop down on the comfy blue train seat. I let out a long sigh as my eye lids became heavy. Have I really been this tired? I groaned softly as I rested my head onto the glass window next to my seat, letting myself doze off.

* * *

3rd POV

 _"I-I'm so sorry, dear..." a familiar feminine voice began, clearly sounding apologetic._

 _"I know that your birthday will be sometime during your trip to Inaba... I'm so sorry that your father and I couldn't celebrate it with you. I'm sorry, really. Especially after last years celebration, when she came in and made that big tantrum." A child's voice along with a smooth man's voice suddenly calls out from somewhere far away, catching the woman's attention._

 _"They're home already? Oh dear... Listen, I'm really sorry... This is the least that I could do, please. Buy yourself something nice as a gift from your father and I" the woman said softly, almost in a whisper. The same child's voice called out again._

 _"Coming!" the woman called back, her voice sounding much happier than it did when talking to the first person._

 _"...I'm so sorry. Happy birthday sweetie, your father and I... We love you" the woman said weakly before leaving._

 _The person that the woman was talking too started to cry, tears uncontrollably falling down their face. Suddenly, the sound of static along with fuzzy memories began to form in the persons head. Multiple voice began to cry out in distress, telling one another to run away or to do something._

 _"-Narukami-chan!" a voice called out._

* * *

Protagonist's POV

I abruptly awoke from my slumber as the voice from my dream fades away. What was that? The train suddenly enters a tunnel, causing me to remember that I was on the train to Inaba. I placed a hand over my mouth as I yawned softly. I think that little nap only made me _more_ exhausted.

Once the train exited the tunnel, I took a look outside; observing the greenery and bare surroundings. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the spring sunlight. I looked over to the right, to the other window and seats which were empty. I peeked out of my seat section and noticed that there was two, maybe three other people on the train with me.

"...It's so quite here" I muttered to myself as I sat back down, combing my short hair with my fingers. I smoothed out my white turtleneck shawl, readjusted my light brown scarf, tugged my lavender buttoned dress, and puffed my turquoise buttoned shirt that was aligned perfectly with my dress. I tapped the heels of my knee-high brown boots against the floor to help my feet wake up, while my black leggings got to breathe for a few seconds.

"Thank you for riding with us. In just a few moments, we'll reach our final stop; YasoInaba Station" a voice over the trains PA system began, catching my attention. I stood up from my seat and stood on my tipped toes, dragging my duffel bag down with the strap I left dangling. "Please prepare to exit." I grabbed my souvenirs bag and walked towards the doors that would allow me to embrace the spring's warm sun and cold winds. Once the doors opened, I walked off the train and breathed in the atmosphere of the rural town.

"Final stop, YasoInaba. YasoInaba station" the voice from the PA system called out. I blinked as I looked around the station. The train station looked bare, the cement ground covered with sakura petals from the trees. The ground looked filthy, patches of filth here and there as the ceilings collected small amounts of dust.

Brushing off the condition of the station, I walked forward to where a small patch of stairs awaited me. I blinked in surprise as I walked down the stairs, slightly amazed at how little there seemed to be. There was a small number of three buildings visible to me, green hills and mountains could be seen behind the buildings. I looked up slightly and saw all the telephone wires hovering in the air as they were held by their telephone poles. I blinked in surprise as I looked around the area, slowly taking in it's little offers.

"There's... Absolutely nothing here..." I muttered to myself. I closed my eyes as I listened to the wind that gently began to blow. It's been a while since I've had the chance to just relax and let the breeze cool me from the suns hot rays. It felt rather nice.

"Oh, there you are!" a man's voice called out. I opened my eyes in surprise and looked over to my right, where a man began to head towards me. I blinked in slight confusion at the person as I turned towards him. The man seemed to be in his early thirties and was dressed in a gray shirt, a dark red tie lazily hanging from his neck, and a pair of brown slacks on his feet. I couldn't help but notice a pack of cigarettes sticking out of his shirt pocket.

"You look more beautiful in person than in that picture" the man complimented as he continued to walk towards me, a smile on his face. I felt my face heat up slightly, forming an, almost visible, blush on my cheeks.

"You're a whole lot bigger than the last time I saw ya. You were just a little girl in diapers back then" the man said carelessly as he stuck out his left arm and lowered it towards the ground, showing how tall I was when we had met the first time. I shifted slightly, a slightly embarrassed vibe coming from me. This man must be my uncle. Noticing the somewhat awkward and embarrassed atmosphere I had, the man blinked in surprise.

"Hm? What, don't you remember me? Well, it has been a while..." the man said with a slightly embarrassed tone, scratching the back of his head with his left hand. Shortly after a good scratch, the man placed hand on his hip as he gave me a welcoming smile.

"The name's Ryoutaro Dojima. I just happen to be your mothers younger brother" the man explained. I nodded, trying to repeat the name in my head. Uncle Dojima. My guardian for this coming year. Dojima then looked down over to his right, the smile still on his face.

"And... This here is my daughter, Nanako" Dojima introduced as I followed his gaze. There, cowering behind Dojima's legs was a brown hair, short pig tailed girl with big brown eyes. Holding her hair were two small pink ribbons that matched the one of the colors of her dress. The little girl, known as Nanako, was wearing a white turtleneck underneath her dress that had three different shades of pink.

Nanako stared at me with a soft pink on her cheeks for a while before hiding half of her face behind Dojima's arm.

"Go on Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin" Dojima encouraged with a smile. I mentally giggled at how cute Nanako was as I squatted down to her height, keeping my legs together as I tilted my head to the side slightly.

"Hello" I greeted, a soft look in my eyes that was accompanied with no smile. Nanako's cheeks deepened at my actions as she looked down at her feet.

"Ah... Um... Hello!" Nanako stammered before hiding behind Dojima. Dojima chuckled as I stood back up. Dojima leaned forward slightly to smile at his daughter with a teasing look.

"What're you so shy for? I thought you were excited to have another girl in the house" Dojima chuckled before Nanako smacked him at his backside, causing him to yelp. Soon, Dojima began to chuckle again as Nanako glanced at me again. Dojima looked over at me and pointed his thumb over behind him, showing a car of some sort. It was one of those popular ones recommended for those who had a family. I wasn't into cars, so I didn't know what brand. All I do know right now is that it's white with a spare tire on the back.

"My car's over that way. Let's head home, shall we?" Dojima suggested. I nodded as the three of us began to walk forward.

* * *

The silence in the car was slightly unbearable for the others as I gazed out the window. My eyelids continued to threaten to close as I stared outside of my window, my right hand holding my head up. The radio was on and it continued to talk about the Mayumi-Yamano scandal. Can't the news change topics like it usually does?

"Well, you're here" Dojima began, catching my attention. "But damn, sorry it's like this. It sucks that you have to pick up and move just because of your parents." I blinked in surprise at the language Dojima had carelessly blurted in front of his daughter. I blinked twice as I lowered my head slightly, thinking that it might be slightly normal for people now a days to say words like that.

"Regardless, I'm glad your spending the year here" Dojima continued, as he looked over his shoulder once reaching a stop light. "It'll be fun!" He flashed a comforting smile, one that made me feel welcomed. I nodded with a shy look in my eyes.

"...Yeah" I muttered in reply. Dojima closed his eyes as he smiled, a soft chuckle from him. Nanako tapped Dojima on the shoulder shyly, catching both of our attention.

"Potty time, hurry...!" Nanako said softly, sounding embarrassed. I couldn't tell what her face looked like, but based on her personality I have met so far and the sound of her voice; I would say she's rather red in the face. Dojima blinked at Nanako nervously and glanced at me. I nodded at him, telling him that I was okay with a side trip. Dojima nod in reply, thanking me as he began to drive forward with permission from the green light.

After driving a little bit more, I noticed a town coming into sight; a car or two passing by us. I blinked in curiosity as I stared out my window, noticing how little people were outside on a beautiful day like today. Soon, Dojima pulled over into a small looking gas station as a delivery truck drove away.

"Welcome!" a male voice called out as Dojima stopped next to a gas pump. Nanako quickly unbuckled herself and jumped out of the car, Dojima slowly exiting the car with her. I stared at Nanako's back as she ran inside the little convenient store, looking like she was at her breaking point.

"Are you going to be alright on your own?" Dojima called out as he poked his head towards the back of the car, watching Nanako enter the store. Feeling a little stuffy inside the car and wanting to see more of the rural town, I slowly stepped out of the car; feeling my legs become heavy for some reason.

"Hey, are you heading out?" the same male voice from earlier asked. I looked over to the figure who was dressed in red, orange, and white; clearly looking like an employee. I walked over to the back of Dojima's car and looked around at the rural town, trying to stay out of eavesdropping their conversation.

"No, I just got back from picking my niece up train station. She's moving here from the big city today" I heard Dojima reply, causing me to look at him. He was pointing a thumb over to my general direction, causing the employee to follow Dojima's thumb. A gentle breeze blew over us, causing my short hair to sway as I looked around the town. It's so small, I doubt that I'll get lost here; which is a good thing.

"Regular please, and uh... Fill 'er up?" Dojima asked the employee as he walked over to me. I heard the employee say, "Cool thank you" as my attention fixed on Dojima.

"Wait here until Nanako get's back, alright? Don't go wandering around" Dojima instructed as he pulled out the little packet of cigarettes from his shirt pocket. I nodded in reply, causing Dojima to smile as he walked towards the convenient store.

I turned back my attention towards the rode in front of me, observing it's quietness. Not a single soul was outside, almost making the town like a ghost town. I could see a few shops closed in front of the gas station, a bus stop sign not all that far away. I noticed that in bold writing, it said on top of the sign- "Central District". I looked down the road that lined up from the gas station, seeing that a few shops were still open. There was a bookstore, a tofu shop, and another convenient store as far as I could tell. It seemed like there were more stores than just those three, but I couldn't see from where I was standing.

"So, you're from the city huh? In high school?" the employee asked, catching my attention. I turned around to face him as he instructed the gas pump into the car.

"What's a cute girl like yourself doing all the way out here?" the employee asked, smiling slightly. I felt my face heat up slightly as I blinked twice. I blinked twice at his comment as I moved my shoulder up slightly, feeling shy.

"...My parents" I muttered softly, trying to calm my face down. The employee smirked at my reaction as he placed a hand on his hip. I couldn't help but feel an uncomfortable aura around the man. It was somewhat nerve racking.

"Oh, got'cha. Hey, we're looking for part-timers here. You interested?" the employee asked, sending me a bigger smile that almost seemed like a smirk. I shook my head slightly, becoming slightly more shy at the employee's stare.

"Thank you, but no" I replied, my head lowering a bit while keeping our eyes locked.

"Still trying to get used to how dull it is here compared to the big city?" the employee chuckled as he looked out towards the road, lined up with shops. I fallowed his gaze as I looked out towards the buildings.

"You'll be bored to tears if you don't have a job or something. But, by looking at you; I can tell you'll get a lot of friends" the employee said with a sly tone, a hint of amusement as he caught my attention. He walked over to me and extended his hand out towards me. I blinked in surprise as I took a slight step back.

"But hey look, give my job offer some thought. Sound good?" the employee asked, a friendly smile on his face. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the employee had pale skin with shoulder-length light gray colored hair, with eyes that matched. I couldn't help but stare at him with slightly wide eyes that were filled with surprise. I looked down at his hand and shook it with my own.

"...Alright" I muttered under my breath. The employee smirked for some reason as he gave my hand a tight squeeze, not letting go. I felt my face become more warm as I shyly tried to remove my hand from his. But for whatever reason, the employee wouldn't let go and continued to squeeze my hand. The sound of footsteps caught our attention as I instantly shot my head up. Thankfully, Dojima and Nanako were heading back towards us; causing me to sigh in relief silently. Dojima saw the employee and I holding hands, causing him to raise an eyebrow as he glared at him.

"Hey, there's no need for you to hit on my niece" Dojima growled, causing the employee to let go of my hand. I took my hand back near my body as I held my wrist with my other hand. The employee chuckled nervously as he hid his gray eyes.

"Whoops, busted! All right, back to work then!" the employee said as he pulled the gas pump out of the car, and quickly walking back inside the convenient store. I looked over to Dojima and looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed. I couldn't find any words to use for my gratitude, so I nodded instead; causing Dojima to blink at me in surprise. He looked at me with slightly sympathetic eyes before smiling and patting my head as he walked past me to the drivers side.

"Sorry about the delay" Dojima apologized cheerfully as he ruffled my hair a bit.

"Ready to go?" he asked as his hand slid off my silver head. I nodded slightly and faced forward, ready to get back inside the car. Suddenly, a massively throbbing pain pounded at my brain. I wobbled a bit, my legs suddenly giving out as I caught my balance with the spare tire. I placed my right hand over my right eye, closing my eyes as the sunlight made me feel worse.

"Are you okay?" I heard Nanako ask. As if on cue, my throbbing headache slowly drifted away as I looked at Nanako. She had a worried look on her face as she titled her head slightly.

"You don't look so good. Are you... Car sicky?" Nanako asked, a concerned tone in her voice. I blinked in surprise as I tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear.

"...I'm fine. It passed" I replied softly, still a little woozy. Nanako stared at me with a worried look on her face as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over my shoulder slightly and saw Dojima giving me a concerned loo as well.

"You must be exhausted after that long trip. Come on, let's go" Dojima instructed. I nodded, finding words to be slightly more exhausting. As Dojima started the car up again to take the three of us to the Dojima residence, the atmosphere in the car was intense as the Dojima's shot glances over my way. I stopped noticing as the car began to move, my mind going blank as I stared at the car seat in front of me, which Nanako sat in.

* * *

"Hitomi? We're here" I heard a voice call out. I opened my heavy eyelids, noticing that the car had stopped moving. I slowly leaned forward, rubbing my tired eyes. In the corner of my eye, I noticed a bag from a store called 'Junes' sitting next to me. I blinked at it in confusion as the sound of the car doors opening and closing echoed in my ears. Questions began to pop in my head as I slowly unbuckled my seat belt. When did I fall asleep? What was a bag from 'June' doing sitting next to me? The door next to me suddenly opened as Dojima smiled nervously at me.

"You passed out on our way home. I remembered about the food that I was planning on getting today and made a quick errand. Sorry I didn't wake you" Dojima apologized as he grabbed the bag. I shook my head slightly as I opened my door.

"It's fine, I don't mind" I replied softly, sounding drowsy. Nanako stood next to my door with a slightly worried look on her face as I wobbled down to the ground. I tilted my head at her with gentle eyes, letting her know that I was okay. Nanako got the message and smiled shyly at me before walking behind Dojima to the house.

I grabbed my duffel and souvenir bag that was in the trunk before walking towards the two-story traditional style house. I looked up near the rooftop, observing it's deep chocolate color. It was rather late, the sunset rays shining on the roof top. The house looked simple enough. I rubbed my yes once more as I opened the door and walked in.

I blinked in surprise once I saw the condition of the house. Over in the kitchen, where Dojima was getting something out of the fridge while Nanako stood patiently behind him; I noticed that it was fairly clean. There was a toaster on the kitchen table that had a panda on top of the toaster, some news papers and other documents stacked on the corner near the living room, and a cabinet that faced the table- filled with plates, cups, pots, pans, spices, and come china ware. Dojima's brown coat hanged lazily over one of the chairs, near the doorway. In the kitchen itself, there was a fridge which was decorated with childish drawings, documents, and a towel hanging from a magnetic clip for wiping your hands.

Over in the living room, there was a dark brown couch, a chabudai surrounded with four purple zabuton, tatami mats, and a small television that sat in the corner; facing the chabudai. On top of the chabudai were three boxes of to go sushi. I couldn't help but notice the two small brown bears that sat on top of the T.V, finding it cute.

Behind the television was a sliding door that, I assume, is a closet. Near the stairway that was to my right, on the shining wooden floor, was a small wooden cabinet of sorts that had a landline phone on top along with a small green shaded lamp and a vase that held flowers. On the wall behind the flowers is a calendar with a picture of Mount. Fuji on it. I took off my shoes as I walked on to the wooden floor, taking in the house. Dojima closed the fridge as he pulled out three drinks. He placed them down as he walked over to me, a small smile on his face.

"Why don't you and Nanako go on ahead and wait for me at the table? I'll put your things in your room" Dojima said as he took my duffel and souvenir bag. I nodded obediently and walked over to the chabudai. Nanako quickly walked over to the chabudai with the drinks that Dojima had pulled out earlier and took a seat next to the dark blue curtains, while I choose to sit across from her. Nanako placed down an orange drink in front of her as she offered me a can of green tea. I nodded a thank you to her as I took the can. After a moment, Dojima came back from upstairs. He chuckled nervously as he sat down at the end of the chabudai, between Nanako and I.

"This was _supposed_ to be your welcoming party..." Dojima began, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish look. "But I'm not much of a cook, so this was the best I could throw together." I tilted my head slightly with a nod, letting him know that I understood. Nanako happily offered the other can of green tea to Dojima, in which he smiled at her. I looked down over to my can and open it up, Dojima and Nanako fallowing. Dojima then raised up his can of green tea, Nanako and I fallowing his lead.

"Well... Bottoms up!" Dojima cheered happily. The three of us held our cans slightly higher before drinking. Nanako and I took a small sip as Dojima took a big gulp. Placing our cans down, Nanako clapped her hands together; thanking for the food as Dojima smiled at me.

"So, it looks like we're going to be your family for a while" Dojima began, starting up a conversation. "Do your best to try and make yourself feel at home here, okay?" I blinked at him with a surprised face. A family...? My face couldn't help but warm up as I looked down, nodding shyly.

"...Alright, thank you" I muttered, timidly. Dojima laughed as he picked up his chopsticks.

"Well, let's have some sushi then" Dojima chirped, hungry for the cheap brand. I picked up my chopsticks slowly, when suddenly; Dojima's phone went off. I blinked in surprise as I saw him sigh in exhaustion.

"Of course, perfect timing..." Dojima grumbled as he took out his phone, standing up from the table. Dojima flipped open his cell as he turned his back on Nanako and me, a sigh escaping him. I sat up on my knees a little as I sat in the same spot, but towards Dojima's back.

"Dojima here" he began. There was a small pause, when I noticed in the corner of my eye that Nanako looked rather upset. My eyes softened in sympathy at her, knowing exactly how it feels.

"...Got it, I'm on my way" Dojima said, hanging up his phone and stuffing it in his pocket shortly after. Nanako and I looked back over to Dojima as he walked towards the door.

"Sorry, I gotta go. Feel free to dig in. Oh, and make sure to help her out okay; Nanako" Dojima instructed as he grabbed a coat that hanged from one of the chairs, slugging it over his shoulders. Nanako stood up, catching my attention.

"Daddy...!" Nanako called out, a hint of sadness and disappointment in her voice. I looked back over to Dojima, a slightly worried look on my face.

"Don't wait up for me. It could be kinda late..." Dojima muttered as he did a little dance, fixing his feet into his shoes. My shoulders slouched as Dojima opened the door and stepped a foot out the door. I blinked in surprise as I heard the sound of rain hitting the ground outside. Dojima looked over to the right and left, surprised at the fact it was raining.

"Nanako, it's raining out! What did you do with the laundry?" Dojima asked as he held his arm out. Nanako blinked in surprise at Dojima's hesitation to leave the house.

"I brought it in! All dry..." Nanako called out, saying the last part softly to herself. Dojima nodded as he stuffed his arms through the sleeves of his coat.

"Great, I'm off" Dojima called out as he closed the door behind him. I blinked after him in confusion. I looked over to Nanako, just in time for her to sit down as if nothing had happened. I looked back over to the door, raising an eye brow in confusion. Did he just go off to work? Based on the way that his pone call went, he seems to be involved with legal fairs. I looked over to Nanako, sitting properly as I smoothed out my skirt. I nervously looked up at Nanako, who was calmly eating her meal. It surprised me a little at how calm she was able to just eat after her father left.

"...What does your father do?" I asked, wanting to know the answer. Nanako swallowed the sushi bits in her mouth.

"He... investigates stuff. Like crime scenes" Nanako began, trying to find the proper words. I blinked in surprise at two things.

1) Nanako's vocabulary.  
2) Dojima's occupation.

"My dad's a detective at the police department. It's kinda always like this" Nanako explained as he looked over to Dojima's untouched sushi box. I nodded slowly, looking down at my skirt. So, Dojima's a detective... Nanako must worry constantly about him. I looked up over to Nanako, finding it astonishing at how much Nanako and I had in common. Well, we had somewhat similarity. After a long pause of silence, Nanako fidgeted in the silence and turned on the television.

" ** _-And after a word from our sponsors, the weather_** " a male voice stated. I looked over to the television as a cheery tone began, balloons floating diagonally. Nanako suddenly perked up at the tone and screen, a big smile on her face as she giggled.

 **"** ** _At Junes, everyday is 'Costumer Appreciation Day'! Come see for yourself and get in touch with our products!_** **"** a cheerful woman's voice said as produce with cheap prices began to float along the screen. Soon the top of a store appeared, a sign with orange letters spelling out, 'Junes'. I blinked in surprise as I recalled the shopping bag that contained the sushi from earlier.

 **"** ** _Every day's great at your Junes~_** **"** the woman sang, a simple yet cheerful tone in the background. Nanako smiled happily as she began to sway to the sides, her brown pigtails bouncing in sync.

"Every day's great at your Junes~!" Nanako sang, her voice sounding bad. It was expected from a child. I stared at Nanako as she continued to sway. Noticing my stare, Nanako stopped swaying and blinked at me.

"You're not hungry?" she asked, noticing that my sushi box hasn't even been opened yet. I tensed up and looked at my food, my face heating up a little bit.

"No, it looks great...!" I stammered, my face becoming even more hot. I nervously began to eat as a stiff silence accompanied Nanako and I for the rest of the night.

* * *

 ** _After dinner..._**

After putting away Dojima's dinner in the fridge for him to eat later, I walked took a quick bath and went upstairs to my bedroom. Besides from all the boxes that had beaten me to this place, my room was pretty empty. I stretched my arms up high, letting my big V-neck gray shirt show a bit of my stomach. I yawned as my arms plopped down to my sides, smacking my thighs that was protected by my comfortable black pajama bottoms. I nodded to myself and walked over to a box that sat on top of a low coffee table that sat in front of a blue couch, in front of a matching blue curtained window. The box was labeled, 'school', which had everything I needed for tomorrow.

I let out a silent sigh of exhaustion as I pulled out my school's uniform from the box. I haven't touched it since I got it, so it was still wrapped up in plastic; folded neatly. I was exhausted after traveling for three days, but I still had to unpack just a little bit. I was using the guest futon that Dojima had already set up for me earlier today before leaving dinner, seeing as how delivering a futon to another person's house could be tiring. I pulled out my bag, notebooks, textbooks, and my pencil case filled with pens and pencils. I blinked at the items in front of me, realizing that I didn't have my small green notebook. I sighed as I opened up a random box next to me, hoping that the notebook was inside. I blinked in surprise before tensing up at what I saw inside.

It was my old school's uniform. I closed my eyes in pain as the voices of disappointment echoed into my head.

-Flashback-

 _I stood next to the teachers desk, my head down as the class murmured with questions._

" _You've probably heard by now, but Narukami will be transferring schools. Her parents will be working abroad for a while. So as of this spring, she will..._ " _my old teacher began before his voice was forcefully pushed out of my head. My eyes narrowed slightly, finding the usual pain I would feel when transferring_ _schools to be different this time. Could it be perhaps that I was transferring not because of her, but because of both of them?_

 _My fellow classmates booed and muttered among themselves as I remained at the front of the class._

 _"So Narukami-san is transferring to another school? But she only got here!"_

 _My hand twitched as my classmates voices found their way into my head._

 _"This is nothing though. She used to transfer a lot of school after the incident! This time however, it's because of her parents and her!"_

 _"How many schools have she been to already because of that brat? Like, 25?"_

 _I slowly began to bite my teeth down together, finding the words 'brat' uncalled for. It wasn't her fault._

 _"I've always been impressed with Narukami-san. I mean, if it were me; I'd be out of that family by now."_

 _Stop it._

 _It wasn't her fault. Don't blame her._

 _Blame me._

 _I am the one to blame._

-End flashback-

Not able to bear the painful memories, I quickly closed the box with my old school uniform and shook my head. Sitting on the back of my thighs, I looked over to my school stuff that laid on my coffee table. After a short pause, I blinked in surprise when I noticed a familiar green fabric stick out from underneath a textbook. I lifted the textbook up, and there I saw my little green notebook. I sweat dropped as I groan softly.

I slowly fell backwards into my futon and quickly buried myself underneath it's covers. I rolled over to my stomach, resting my face on my pillow. I quickly crossed my arms underneath my pillow, resting my chin on it instead as I looked around the barren room. There was nothing inside besides from the mountain of boxes, a small coffee table, and a blue couch behind it. There was also a small wooden desk over to my left, a wide cabinet meant for undergarments on my right, a small television set held by a wooden stand that was painted black stood to the left of the wide cabinet, a somewhat large wooden closet to the left of the television, and right across from my futon was an empty wired shelf. My eye lids became heavy as darkness slowly engulfed me. So... I'm stuck here for a whole year, huh? May it be a good one...

" ** _Do you wish to learn the truth?_** "

I opened my left eye, hearing a mysterious voice from somewhere. My vision was blurry, not as sharp as it usually was as I looked around; not feeling my body. Is this... A dream? I was surrounded with a thick fog, a shadowy figuring standing in front of me. The voice was mixed, sounding like a man... But at the same time, a woman. Was the figure even human?

" ** _Then try your best to catch it_** "

What? Who is that? But as I tried to answer these questions, reaching out for an answer; I started to loose consciousness...

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, April 12th_**

My eyes slowly opened. I looked around my surroundings, wondering where I was. Then I remembered. I was living with my uncle and cousin, the Dojima's. I sat up groggily, rubbing my tired eyes. I stretched out my legs and arms, a small yawn escaping my lips. Soon, there was a knock on my door.

"Breakfast is ready" a girls voice called out through the door. I blinked in surprise as I recognized it as Nanako's voice. I got on my feet and began to fold my futon.

"Alright, I'll be down soon" I replied. I heard footsteps become quieter, telling me that Nanako had walked downstairs.

Once my futon was folded, I got dressed into my new school uniform. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I smoothed out my clothes while noting the bland colors. The uniform was a sailor style with a dark shade of gray, almost black, with a yellow stash. I readjusted my stash, when I noticed that the skirt was a little short. It was spring too, so showing my legs this time around isn't going to be all that comfortable. Knowing this, I decided to wear a long-sleeved white turtleneck, and a pair of black pantyhose's. With a small yawn, I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Once I was downstairs, I noticed that the house was empty like last night. I looked over to the kitchen, noticing that Nanako was setting out plates of food on the kitchen table instead of the chabudai. Noticing my presence, Nanako smiled slightly at me.

"Good morning" Nanako greeted. I blinked at her and nodded a hello.

"'Morning, Nanako..." I greeted, walking towards the table. Two pieces of toast popped out from the toaster as Nanako placed down a plate in front of a chair closest to the refrigerator. I blinked at the food, noticing that there was only two selections of food types. There seemed to be fresh sunny-side up eggs and toast on the plates, a cup of milk next to them as a nice aroma filling the room. I looked over to Nanako and tilted my head slightly as she took a seat.

"Did you make breakfast?" I asked before sitting down as well. Nanako nodded, making her pigtails bounce.

"I can toast bread and cook sunny-side up eggs in the morning" Nanako explained. I nodded with a slightly surprised look on my face. So since Dojima can't cook, Nanako does it for him in stead? But she's so young, so she can probably only make this. They probably buy dinner.

I looked around the room, taking note that Dojima hadn't returned home from last night. Or he left already. Nanako and I simultaneously clapped out hands together and thanked for the food before eating the simple, yet well made meal.

"You're starting school today, right?" Nanako asked after a moment of silence. I looked up from my food, swallowing the bits of my egg and bread in my mouth.

"Yeah" I replied with a nod. Nanako smiled brightly as her cheeks became slightly pink.

"My school's on the way, so... Let's go together!" Nanako chirped. I blinked in surprise at her offer, finding it cute. I nodded, agreeing to go with her. I _did_ need directions. And Nanako seemed somewhat restless, so there was no way I can say no. Nanako smiled happily before eating the rest of her food.

Once the two of us were done eating, we walked together through the central district underneath our umbrellas; protected from the rain that continued to pour from last night. I had a green umbrella while Nanako's was the classic elementary school color, yellow. I couldn't help but notice all the people Nanako and I passed by through the central district. I looked around in astonishment, finding it amazing that what was once a ghost town had turned into a somewhat lively one. Where were they yesterday, when the weather was nice?

After Nanako and I continued to walk for a bit, we came across a grassy plain, with a sloping hill that lead to a flowing river. The river looked somewhat high due to the rain, oozing onto the gravel. Nanako stopped in place as she turned around, facing me.

"This is the Samegawa flood plain" Nanako explained. I blinked at her before looking back over to the river. So, is that river called the 'Samegawa river'? It would certainly make scenes. I nodded and looked back to Nanako. Nanako looked forward and pointed up ahead, where I saw some bobbing heads in the distance.

"You keep going straight from here" Nanako instructed. I blinked at her before fallowing her finger.

"To reach the high school?" I asked, making sure that I was going to be at my desired location.

"Uh-huh" Nanako replied. I looked back over to her and nodded a thank you. Nanako smiled and nodded back. She then turned around and bowed the the side a little.

"My school's this way. Bye!" Nanako chirped as she began to walk towards the direction we came in. I waved bye to her as she walked, before walking forward as Nanako had instructed.

After walking for a while, I spotted a few students wearing the same uniform as me walking down the same direction. The small tension I felt quickly left my body as I sighed silently in relief. This year, I wouldn't have to deal with her. No one would have to know about my situation in regards to her. So, maybe... I'll be able to make friends this time around.

As I walked forward, fallowing the students who chatted among themselves, I heard a soft squeaking noise behind me. I blinked in surprise, before mentally shrugging it off. But soon, the squeaking noise became gradually louder; along with grunts of a boy. I blinked in surprise again before looking over my shoulder. There, I saw a boy with slightly unkempt fawn colored hair staggerly ride a beat up yellow bike with one hand. The other was holding his umbrella, trying to keep the boy dry. I stared at him with slightly wide eyes as he began to loose control of his bike.

"Whoaaaa...!" the boy gasped as he hit a telephone pole. I wince at his pain, stopping at the sight. I blinked nervously at the crash sight, a little worried about the boys health. The guy was whimpering as he held his groin, jumping from one foot to the other. I felt my face heat up and quickly looked away, walking forward. I'm sorry guy-I-don't-know... But I'm just going to let you be for now.

As I approached the gates of the school, I paused and looked at the building. The building was fairly glamorous for a school in my opinion. Out of all of my schools that I've been too, this one certainly sticks out. But in a good way, or course. The courtyard was clean, bikes were well kept in the racks off to the side, and sakura trees were on both sides of the entrance. I flinched in surprise as the school bells began to ring. Not wanting to be late, I quickly scurried off inside and found my shoe locker; switching my shoes.

I had already shipped my student information here, so they had already given me a shoe locker as well as all of my classes. I placed my umbrella inside the rack that sat in the corner of the entrance inside and looked around for the faculty office. Thankfully, there were signs above each door; allowing me to find it rather quickly. I was able to make myself invisible to the others, quietly entering the room. I turned around and saw that the room was fairly empty, a few teachers quickly gathering their things.

"You there, girl!" a voice shouted, causing me to straighten in surprise. My eyes locked onto a man with a straight bob-cut black hair, hazel eyes, and buck teeth. He wore a dark navy suit with white lines and a white collar long sleeved shirt with a yellow and orange checkered tie. The man marched over to my direction, while I stood in place; blinking nervously. The man stopped right in front of me, his hands on his hips.

"Didn't you hear the bell? School has started, so get to class!" the man scolded. I blinked nervously as I lowered my head sheepishly.

"Um, this appears to be a misunderstanding. I'm the new transfer student, Hitomi Narukami" I explained calmly, standing up straight once again. The man stared at me for a bit, making my face heat up slightly. I didn't know why, but I was rather uncomfortable by the mans stare. Suddenly, the man cleared his throat and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"Ah, so you're the one?" the man asked himself, glancing at the paper then at me, then back at the paper. It must have been my student information. The man nodded and threw the paper over to a messy desk, which I assume is his. The man then opened the door next to me and waved his hand, telling me to fallow him. I rubbed the back of my neck as he began to walk. Was he my teacher? He certainly is a character...

"Hey, new girl! Keep up!" the man shouted, catching my attention. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I quickly fallowed him.

* * *

3rd POV

Classroom 2-2 buzzed with students as they talked about whatever came to mind. Aside from two students, everyone was wearing their student uniforms properly. A few students laid on their desk, taking a nap; unaccustomed yet to waking up early.

"Ugh, talk about bad luck... The homeroom here is Morooka, isn't it?" a male student groaned while sitting in his seat. Another male student who was standing next to him crossed their arms over their chest with a disappointed look on his face.

"Yeah, it's King Moron alright... We get to enjoy his long-ass sermons every day for a _whole_ year..." the other student complained, getting annoyed already at the facts. The student who was sitting down slouched as a female student walked over, an excited look on her face.

"Hey you guys, I heard there's going to be a student from the city in this class!" the girl chirped, catching other students attention.

"Whoa, seriously?" a group from across the room asked. The girl nodded happily, causing the students to start talking about the mysterious new transfer student. The boy sitting down next to the girl raised an eyebrow in amusement, tilting his chair back.

"Really now? A guy or a girl?" he asked, an intrigued tone in his voice. His friend instantly placed his hand onto the desk, a big grin on his face.

"I bet you five hundred yen it's a girl!" he said with confidence, causing the boy to smirk.

"Heh, you're on!" he snickered. Suddenly, the door slid open, causing the students to instantly head to their seats. The man, known to the students as 'King Moron' walked over to his desk with a notebook in hand. The students eyes, besides from one who was lying on his desk, instantly fell on Hitomi who walked behind him. A few of the boys smiled a little, their cheeks becoming a little red as a few of the girls stared at Hitomi with interest.

"Alright, take your seats, on the double" the man barked, causing those who were still standing to sit down. Hitomi found a piece of chalk and quickly wrote her name down on the board.

"I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward!" the man introduced, a dull and annoyed tone in his voice. The man glared at the students with his piercing eyes, causing the room to become uncomfortably quite. Hitomi finished writing her name on the board and turned around to face the class.

"First things first! Just cuz it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons" Morooka growled, glaring at the male students who were staring at Hitomi. The students shifted uncomfortably in their seats, a few of the boys had their eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

"Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow!" Morooka said with a slap of his notebook onto his desk. Hitomi mentally corrected him, thinking 'pure as the _fallen_ snow'. Morooka looked over to Hitomi as he placed his hand on his desk, holding himself up.

"This girl up here is our new transfer student. She got booted from our putrid capital to out here to the boonies..." Morooka said, causing Hitomi to flinch slightly. After a pause with Morooka staring at the girl, as if trying to read her; he suddenly turned to the class with dangerous eyes that made everyone stop breathing.

"That doesn't make this innocent girl a fugitive!" Morooka began, causing the class to jump in surprise. "None of you perverted boys better make a move on this innocent girl!" Hitomi blinked nervously at Morooka, feeling somewhat uncomfortable before mentally shrugging it off. Hitomi looked over to Morooka as he nodded at her.

"Go on, introduce yourself" Morooka instructed. Hitomi cleared her throat as she looked out to the class.

"My name is Hitomi Narukami. It's a pleasure to be here" Hitomi introduced as she bowed slightly. Morooka suddenly pointed at one of the students in the front row, causing Hitomi to flinch in surprise and stand up again.

"Fiend! You were just ogling this innocent young girl just now, weren't you?!" Morooka called out, slapping his notebook on the desk. The boy blushed at the acquisition, his mouth gaped with shock.

"Huh?!" the boy asked, clearly confused. Hitomi blinked at the boy then back over to Morooka, wondering who was _really_ ogling her.

"That's the problem with you kids these days, thinking you can just do anything you want because you 'feel' that it was right!" Morooka lectured, slamming his hand on his desk. There was an audible groan that swept through the class as Morooka continued to lecture them. Hitomi shifted a little in discomfort, scanning the room for an empty seat. Suddenly, a hand shot up, catching Hitomi's attention.

"Uh, hey! 'Scuse me, sir?" the owner of the hand called out, stopping Morooka from lecturing. Hitomi blinked in surprise at the owner of the raised hand, noticing how much he stuck out from the other students. It was a boy with light brown, bowl-shaped hair, and cheerfully, perky brown eyes. He was wearing a light green, high collared athletic jacket. Morooka turned his attention to the boy and glared at him.

"There's an empty seat over here! Can she sit next to me?" the boy asked, earning a grunt fro Morooka.

"Fine" Morooka grunted. Hitomi nodded a goodbye to Morooka and walked over to the empty seat. As she walked toward the empty seat, she could hear the other students gossiping.

"Told ya the transfer was a girl! You owe me five hundred yen!"  
"Wow! She's a cutie!"  
"She's right up there with Amagi and Ichijo!"

With a silent sigh of relief, Hitomi placed her bag onto the bag hook and pulled out the chair. Once she was seated, the boy who had saved her and the entire class from more lectures leaned over slightly towards Hitomi, grabbing her attention. Hitomi looked over to the boy. She noticed that he had somewhat of a baby face, making him look a little feminine.

"We call him, 'King Moron'. He's horrible" the boy whispered. Hitomi nodded slightly in agreement. Having a teacher protect the girls virginity was somewhat creepy.

"Shut it, Satonaka!" Morooka shouted, causing the two of them to straighten up. Morooka slapped his notebook a few times on the desk, causing the few students who were whispering to stop.

"Listen up, homeroom's about to begin!" Morooka barked. Hitomi blinked in surprise with her normal blank face, letting out a small quite sigh. She had a feeling that it was going to be a long first day of school. Glancing over to the left, Hitomi noticed that it had stopped raining outside. Hitomi blinked in surprise once she saw all the fog that roamed outside. It was so thick, she couldn't even see the telephone polls. Shaking off the strange fog, Hitomi looked up front and listened to Morooka call out students names.

* * *

Hitomi's POV

"That's it for today. Come tomorrow, we'll be back in our usual routine. So be prepared!" Morooka barked as the bell rang, letting everyone know it was the end of the day. Morooka grabbed his notebook and left the classroom, some students fallowing after him.

"I finally saw that midnight channel!" a boy said with an excited tone, as he and a friend exited the classroom.

"Man, that Miss Yamano lady is, like the woman of my dreams!" the friend said, a slight redness to his face.

"Totally!" the first boy cheered, nodding with a thumbs up. I rested my head on my desk while waiting for the announcement allowing everyone to leave. Even though there are conversations going on around me, I didn't jump in because that would be rude.

Having enough of doing nothing, I stretched my legs and arms a little bit, feeling a bit stiff. With a small sigh, I began to pack my things. I had to go straight home today and unpack the rest of my stuff. Having a bunch of boxes as room interior was not all that nice.

As I continued to pack my bag, the intercom bell came on; causing students to look up at the speakers in confusion.

"Attention all students, there has been an incident on campus" the intercom began, casing the room to go abuzz with intrigued chatter. I blinked in surprise at the sudden announcement and began to pack my stuff faster.

"Please remain calm and head directly home. Do not distract the police officers who have been dispatched around the school zone" the intercom finished. Once I was done packing up my bag, I stood up from my seat, pushing in my chair. I began to walk towards the back door of the classroom, not looking at anything besides from the door.

"Yo, new girl!" a voice called out. I stopped in my tracks and turned around. There I saw the boy from earlier who sat next to me standing next to a girl with long straight black hair that is kept neat by a red hairband. The girl was wearing the normal uniform along with a red sweater and black opaque pantyhose, like me. Looking at the boy now, I realized that he had some decorative buttons on his pants sleeve that were rolled up a little above his ankles. He also had a blue backpack on instead of the accustomed school bag.

"Are you going home alone? Why don't you come with us! This thing sounds kinda freaky, and it'd be best if everyone walked in groups, you know?" the boy said, a slightly nervous look on his face. I blinked in surprise before nodding with a slightly heated face.

"Sure..." I muttered shyly, my face becoming even more warm. I inhaled through my nose, trying to keep my composure and cool down my blushed face as the boy and the girl next to him walked towards me. Now that I had the opportunity to make friends, I was a little scared to make them. I'll only be here for a year, which means any friends I make will have to say goodbye.

"Cool! The name's Nise Satonaka, and this here is my friend Yukiko Amagi" Satonaka introduced, gesturing to the girl next to him. I nodded a hello to her as she blinked nervously at me.

"I'm sorry for pestering you" Amagi apologized, causing me to blink in surprise. Why was she apologizing? Satonaka made a strange expression as he stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Yukiko, don't apologies! It makes me look bad!" Satonaka said with a nervous yet angry tone. He continued to mutter, saying some things I didn't catch when someone caught my attention. I looked over to the left and noticed the bike boy from this morning with a nervous look on his face.

"Hey, wassup Satonaka... San" the boy said nervously, a matching smile on his face. He held up a DVD case that had a picture of a dragon, a man in purple fighting attire; the title reading, "Trail of the Dragon".

"Thanks! I loved it, it was way cool!" the boy said nervously, sweat rolling down his face. I blinked in surprise and confusion as he suddenly dropped the DVD into Satonaka's hands.

"Well, later!" he said and quickly headed for the door. I don't know why, but I had a feeling something was about to go down between these two. Satonaka glared at the boys head, tripping him with his long legs.

"Hold it!" Satonaka growled as the boy fell down, his body skidding outside of the classroom. I winced at the poor guys pain, thinking that today was _not_ his day. Satonaka opened up the DVD case before gasping with horror.

"What the hell?! You _cracked_ the disk, you SOB!" Satonaka shouted, stomping on the poor guy's back, causing him to grunt in pain.

"How could you do this to my 'Trial of the Dragon'?!" Satonaka asked, his voice cloaked in anger as he continued to stomp on the guy.

"Sorry, it was an accident...! I'll make it up to you after I get my paycheck...!" the boy breathed, finally getting air after that stomping from Satonaka. I blinked nervously at the guy with a worried look on my face.

"Are you okay?" Amagi asked, a slightly concerned tone in her voice. Satonaka looked over to Amagi and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't be nice to this jerk! Let him _suffer_!" Satonaka growled, a vain popping out of his head. I blinked nervously as a pity look cam down on my face. The poor guy. Satonaka twirled around and walked right past the guy as he laid on the floor.

"Come on, we're goinin' home!" Satonaka huffed, Amagi and I right behind him. I looked over my shoulder to where the poor guy was at, feeling truly sorry for him and slightly guilty. I'm sorry, but I'm leaving you again...

"That's the last time I ever lend him anything!" Satonaka snarled, still venting as we walked down the stairs to the first floor. "How did he break it, anyways? Did he shove it into the DVD player or something? Whatever he did, he owes me big time! I saved up for weeks…"

I wanted to point out that Satonaka may have overreacted to the broken DVD – that boy did say he would pay him back as soon as he could – but decide not to. It's best not to bring up such things while someone is angry. Just let him get it all off his chest. Amagi seems to have the same idea as me, as she also remains quiet. Or maybe she's just shy; I haven't heard her talk since we left the classroom.

Once Satonaka, Amagi, and I got to the first floor and Satonaka had finally calmed down; he turned around and walked backwards, facing me and Amagi.

"So! I know this is a question you might have to answer a lot, but why did you move all the way out here?" Satonaka asked, a hint of excitement in his eyes. I blinked at him in surprise before closing them and lowering my head a bit.

"I move around a lot because of my family situation. Nothing too interesting" I explained, sounding a little blunt.

"Oh, so like... Are your parents divorced or something?" I heard Satonaka ask. I opened my eyes and looked up at him, seeing that he had a curious look on his face. It seemed that he wasn't going to let this go, looking for a bit more juicy. I sighed silently as I reached my shoe locker, opening it.

"You're rather nosy, aren't you?" I said bluntly, grabbing my shoes. I heard Amagi giggle as Satonaka made some strange sound, pretending to fall backwards.

"Aw, come on! Don't pin me like that, I'm just curious! After all, there are many 'family situations' out there!" Satonaka explained as he opened up his locker. I let out a soft sigh of defeat, finding Satonaka to be rather humorous. I placed my shoes down and swapped them with my indoor shoes.

"Alright then. My parents are quite the workaholics, so I move around because of their jobs. I'm only going to be here for a year" I explained. Of course, that wasn't entirely true. I couldn't just go on ahead and spill out my life story. I didn't want too. I'm not the sort of person. Amagi, Satonaka, and I grabbed our umbrellas after putting our shoes on and stepped outside; to the foggy like area.

"So only for a year, huh? And it's only because of your parents work? I was hoping it would be something juicer than that!" Satonaka complained as he tied his hands together behind his head. I sweat dropped at his blunt words as Amagi looked over at him from over her shoulder.

"Nise, don't be rude" Amagi scolded gently, causing Satonaka to chuckle.

"Sorry, sorry! No hard feelings, right Narukami-san?" Satonaka asked, looking over at me. I nodded at him in reply. Satonaka was certainly an interesting person. Amagi was a little shy, somewhat like me. Hopefully, the three of us can become friends.

* * *

When I arrived to the Dojima Residence, I took off my shoes with a slightly exhausted sigh. The first days of school were always tiring. I walked over to the living room and saw Nanako watching television, unaware of my presence.

"Hello, Nanako" I said as I walked over to her. Nanako blinked in surprise and looked over to me. She smiled slightly as I took my seat across from her.

"Hello!" Nanako replied, before staring intently at the television. I turned my head to the television, blinking in surprise that what Nanako was watching was a quiz show. I looked over to Nanako and saw how intense she was taking it. I tucked a flock of my short hair behind my ear as I stood up again. She was really into the show, so the best thing I should do is go an unpack the rest of my things.

"I'm going to unpack my things, alright?" I told Nanako hesitantly, unsure if I should tell her. Nanako blinked in surprise and looked at me with slightly wide eyes.

"Do you want me to help?" she asked, slowly reaching over to the television remote. I shook my head, causing her arm to instantly drop. I turned around and began to head towards the stairs.

"I just wanted to let you know" I explained as I took a final look at her before climbing the wooden stairs.

I ended up unpacking and designing my room for a good solid three hours, right until Nanako declared that she was going to buy dinner. I told her that I would go with her, but she refused my offer; saying that she always shopped alone. I was able to convince her that I would cook up a simple meal once I was done unpacking. With the incident going about, I couldn't let Nanako wonder the streets by herself. The news hadn't aired yet, so I didn't have any new information on where it happened and what _had_ happened.

Once my room was finished, I sighed proudly at the finishing touches. Starting at the left of the room, where my door was; I had placed a calendar from Ouran High School Host Club nest to the door. I had decorated the once empty shelf with a radio and a full deck of music CD's piled next to it; standing on the bottom shelf. On the second shelf, I had decorated it with a small mirror, a small comb, two watches stored in a pouch, and an Aiko Fujioka figurine. On the very top of the shelf, I had placed my small collection of books piled on one another. The wooden closet was filled with my clothes, of course. The television that was held from a wooden stand painted black was filled with movies I had bought over the years, along with some anime. The wide cabinet was filled with my underwear and such inside while I stacked my manga collection on top, along with a spinning toy that resembled an atom. I wiped my forehead that was starting to sweat as I walked downstairs, ready to make dinner.

Nanako watched me as I cook a very simple meal of miso soup, grilled fish, and rice. Not so surprisingly, the Dojima's didn't have a lot of food inside the refrigerator. With a little girl who buys dinner and a man in his thirties who can't cook, you tend to forget all about ingredients.

Every time I did something while preparing the meal, Nanako would gasp in amazement, her eyes twinkling. I couldn't help but find Nanako's intrigued eyes an encouragement boost. I had always cooked for myself, seeing as how I was in a similar situation as Nanako when I was young. I always thought that store bought food was unhealthy, and that they had no love in it. With home made cooking, you can feel the emotions put inside the food. But, that was me then. Now, I don't really mind. Food is food. With the current situation happening though, it would be safer to make the meal myself.

Once the food was done and set out at the table, Nanako happily clapped her hands together, thanked for the meal, and started digging in. I blinked at her in surprise, thinking it was amusing to see Nanako not even wait for me to also give thanks. Right as I thanked the food in my head, Nanako looked at me with big sparkling eyes; causing me to blink with slightly wide eyes.

"This is really good! You're an amazing cook!" Nanako chirped after swallowing the food in her mouth. I felt myself blush at the compliment as I looked down.

"That's good to know" I replied before taking a bite of the fish. Nanako stared at me for a while before blushing a little. I tilted my head at her in confusion, in which she avoided my eye contact and turned on the television. It was a commercial about some sort of sleep product. I didn't really pay any mind to it and continued to eat my fish.

"I wonder if dad's not coming home tonight..." Nanako muttered to herself, noticing the time. I looked over to the plate that I had made for Dojima, laying untouched at the kitchen table. I looked back to my food as questions popped into my head. There was an incident near the school grounds, in which the police have been dispatched. Since that's where Dojima works, could he be investigating the crime? I shivered slightly as my body tensed. I was really glad that Satonaka, Amagi, or I didn't run into the crime scene on our way to the crossing roads; just before going our separate ways home.

 **"** ** _-back. Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quite suburb_** **"** a man from the news center began, catching my attention. **"** ** _Around three o'clock PM today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba._** **"** I nearly chocked on my fish as I heard the words from the news reporter. I covered my mouth as I looked over to the screen, seeing the school zone on screen. This must be about the incident from today.

 **"** ** _The deceased has been identified as Ms. Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year-old from the local television station. The initial results of the Inaba Police Department's Investigation have revealed..._** **"** the reporter began, his voice heard despite the school being shown. Nanako swallowed her food as her eyes widened.

"Ah! The Inaba Police Department! Th-That's where dad works!" Nanako stammered, surprised by the sudden turn of events. Nanako's eyes softened in worry as she clenched her chopsticks. I blinked at her in surprise before closing my eyes and gathered some rice onto my chopsticks.

"He'll be alright. It's his job, isn't it?" I reassured Nanako, taking a bite of the rice. Nanako looked over to me with wide eyes as I opened my left eye at her. Nanako's tension drifted away as she nodded, looking back at the television.

"I know... It's his job, so this stuff happens" Nanako muttered to herself. I opened both of my eyes as I chewed slowly, taking in Nanako's worried expression. Poor Nanako...

 **"** ** _The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof. Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. And with the cause of death uncertain, the police continues to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide_** **"** the report explained as the screen fixed back over to him. I winced in fear as an image of the victims body appeared in my head. They were a little bit descriptive about the position the body was in. Children like Nanako watch the news, they had to watch what they say. Not wanting Nanako to become scared by the news, I looked over to her and pointed at her meal with my chopsticks.

"Nanako, your food is getting cold" I said, catching her attention. She suddenly became nervous and started to eat again, forgetting about the news. I mentally sighed in my head, glad that my plan to grab her attention was successful. A murderer, hanging their victim by an antenna. Quite freaky. I looked back over to the television screen and saw a familiar commercial of a certain store. Junes, of course. I looked back over to Nanako and pointed at the screen, catching her attention.

 **"** ** _At Junes, everyday is 'Costumer Appreciation Day'! Come see for yourself and get in touch with our products!_** **"** a cheerful woman's voice said as produce with cheap prices began to float along the screen. Soon the top of a store appeared, a sign with orange letters spelling out, 'Junes'.

 **"** ** _Every day's great at your Junes~_** **"** the woman sang, a simple yet cheerful tone in the background. Nanako smiled happily as sh began to sway to the sides, her brown pigtails bouncing in sync.

"Every day's great at your Junes~!" Nanako sang, just like last time. I did a thumbs up towards the television screen as a soft pink cloaked my cheeks. Nanako stopped swaying as she stared at me with surprise and confusion in her eyes.

I had always liked big convenient stores. They always have so much to offer and the prices are always good. Back when I was still a kid, I would always go over to the furniture section with her and jump on the beds or try out the message chairs. Then, after finally being noticed by the workers of the store; they'd chase us around. I was always a trouble maker back then, but then after the accident... I lowered my hand and shook my head a little, pushing back my memories. I ran my hand through my hair as I picked up the bowl of miso, taking a sip. It's been a long day, I should go to bed early tonight.


	2. Persona

_**Wednesday, April 13th**_

The next morning, I stared blankly at the pair of legs and arms flailing about, outside of a trash can. Halfway to the school after another quite morning with Nanako, and the thing that sticks out the most is this poor soul who had their head inside of a dirty trash can. The person was wearing the high school boys uniform, so at least I know their gender. I couldn't help but wonder why no one has helped this guy out yet.

"S-Someone...!" the boy called out, kicking his legs even more. I noticed a familiar yellow beat up bike next to the trash can. I suddenly head some snickering off over at the distance, causing me to look behind me.

"Yosuke is so stupid, always crashing into stuff" a girl chuckled mockingly as two other female students giggled with her.

"Right where he belongs, if you ask me" another girl sneered, a hint of disgust in her voice. I looked back over to the boy in front of me. With a sigh of defeat, I scratched my right cheek.

"Help! Help me, please! Ugh, the smell!" the boy called out, his voice muffled. I placed my school bag down next to the bike and walked over to the guy's behind. I felt myself blush a little as I sighed softly, wondering if this will go well. I took a deep breath and placed one hand on his waist and the other on one of his legs. I grunted as I put all of my strength into pulling him out. Even though I was only five feet two, I was able to successfully pull the boy out of the trash can. I ended up falling on my butt, the poor guy falling on his own butt as well. The boy groaned in pain, taking a few breaths of fresh air as I rubbed my lower back.

"Oh man, you're a lifesaver...!" the boy sighed, looking behind him and to me. I blinked in surprise, recognizing the boy's face. He was the unlucky soul who ran into a pole and met Satonaka's range yesterday. The boy blinked in surprise as he stared at me. I noticed that he had costumed the school uniform to his own favor, wearing a white V-necked with long sleeves and a pair of red headphones. I rubbed the back of my head and blinked at him, my usual blank face on.

"Are you alright?" I asked, standing up and smoothing out my skirt. The boy snapped back to reality and laughed nervously.

"Ahaha, I'm fine!" he chuckled nervously, standing up and brushing off the small bits of wrappers on his shirt. He must have crashed into the trash can not too long before I noticed him, seeing as how his clothes were fairly clean.

"I didn't expect anyone to actually help me there, yet alone a cute girl like yourself" he winked, causing me to blink at him. I rubbed the back of my head, shyly.

"Ah... No problem" I replied, causing him to smile and cross his arms over his chest. I walked over to his bike, pointing ahead to where the school was.

"Although, we should probably get going. We'll be late" I said to him as he blinked at me with a surprised look. He gasped in realization, as if remembering what the word 'school' meant. I bent down to grab my bag as the guy readjusted his bike so that it was back on its wheels. He looked over to me and gave a mischievous smile.

"Wanna go for a ride? It's a little squeaky, but it'll be fine" the guy asked. I blinked at him with a deadpan face. I looked forward and began to walk.

"I think I can make it by walking" I replied, the boy gasping in shock before catching up to me.

"Hey, you're Narukami; right?" the boy began, readjusting his orange book bag over his shoulder. "My name is Yosuke Hanamura."

"Hey... How's it going" I replied with a momentous tone. Hanamura held in a sinker as a big grin appeared on his face, leaning forward a little bit to match my height.

"So, do you know what this town is famous for?" Hanamura asked, keeping our conversation interesting. I shook my head, letting my hair sway in sync. He turned his head forward while keeping his eyes on me, giving me a sideways glance.

"We make some seriously good beefsteak! I know it sounds kind of lame, but it's fitting for this place" Hanamura began, as if mocking the town. I blinked at him as he winked at me, turning my way.

"And since you helped my out, why don't I go treat you to some?" Hanamura suggested. I waved my hand at him at little, saying that I wasn't interested.

"No thanks, I'm good" I replied, politely rejecting his offer. He waved at me with a weak motion, a big smile on his face.

"Come on, I insist! You free later today? Of course you are, you're new here! Hey, I went through this too you know!" Hanamura rambled, ignoring my rejection.

"You ass!" a familiar voice shouted, catching our attention. Hanamura froze with a pale face as I looked over my shoulder, seeing that it was Satonaka. Satonaka marched right over to us with an angry smirk on his face, waving around his movie from yesterday.

"So! You don't have enough money to buy a new DVD, but you have enough money to ask a girl out on a date?" Satonaka growled, his smirk turning mischievous. I blinked at Satonaka with a slightly surprised look. Hanamura asked me out on a date? I thought his offer was just to thank me for helping him. I looked over to Hanamura and saw his face turn red as he opened his mouth, about to defend himself when Satonaka smacked his DVD onto Hanamura's face.

"I want in on some of that action! This is how you can pay me back for breakin' my stuff!" Satonaka chirped, happy about his idea. Hanamura groaned in both pain and defeat as Satonaka dragged Hanamura and me forward to school.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

"What?! This isn't beefsteak, you stingy tightwad!" Satonaka complained as Hanamura placed down three trays of taiyoyaki down onto the small table we sat at. Hanamura took a seat with a stressed look on his face, pinching one of his toothpicks.

"Yeahh... Sorry about that, since you jumped onto the freeloader train, I had to change my plans. I couldn't afford two of them" Hanamura apologized, causing Satonaka to yell at him. As Satonaka yelled at Hanamura, I looked around the area that we were in; a soft pink on my cheeks. Hanamura had taken me (Satonaka fallowing with a deadly glare) over to the Junes food court. There wasn't a lot of people out today, seeing as how the sky was darkened with gray clouds. The cheerful little tune that would often play in the commercial, causing me to sway to the side as Nanako did.

Having nothing to do at the moment, I took a piece of napkin and began to fold it. I didn't know origami or anything, but I wanted to try and make something with it.

"Hey, wasn't this on the news yesterday too?" Satonaka asked, catching my attention. Satonaka was staring at a small television that stood behind the counter of the yakisoba griddle. The news was on and were talking about the same problems about the recent incident. Hanamura took a bite of the taiyoyaki, making a painful face as he breathed in and out.

"Yeah, it's freaky how that shit happened all the way out here!" Hanamura huffed, cautiously chewing his food. I looked back over to Hanamura as he made a teasing face over at Satonaka, who was still glue onto the television.

"The murderer could live next door~!" Hanamura snicked, causing Satonaka to shiver and slam his hand onto the table as he turned around.

"Don't go saying that stuff, man! You'll freak Narukami-chan out!" Satonaka growled, his eyebrows knotted together. Hanamura laughed as he swatted his hand around Satonaka's face, causing Satonaka to give him a bored look.

"Come on, don't be like that! Everyone knows how much of a scaredy cat you are, just admit that this kind stuff freaks _you_ out! Besides, I'm only messing with ya" Hanamura teased, causing Satonaka to smack Hanamura's hand away. I blinked at these two, finding them to be quite the pair. Satonaka looked over to me and smiled slightly, a slightly pleading look in his eyes.

"I think we should change the subject" Satonaka said, picking a piece of the taiyoyaki. I looked down at my food and picked up a piece. Satonaka swallowed his food as I took a bite, a recalling look on his face. He looked over at me with a sly look on his face causing me to freeze.

"Hey, Narukami-chan" Satonaka began, causing Hanamura to look at us in slight confusion. "Do you a have a boyfriend?" I blink at him, slightly confused by the question.

"Boyfriend?" I asked. The word was a little foreign to me. I heard some of my old classmates talk about having a 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend', but I never truly knew what it meant. Based on my observation, it seems that a person with a 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend' status often hang out with another person; showing signs of affection by holding hands or pressing their lips together for oxygen. Satonaka sweat drops at my response and blinks at me with slightly nervous eyes.

"Yeah, a boyfriend. You know, a guy you've been intimate with? Otherwise known as a romantic interest, lover, destined partner..." Satonaka explained. I blinked in surprise as my face heats up, understanding the definition of the word now.

"That's a bit personal, don't you think?" I asked, my expression not changing despite my red cheeks. I looked down at my food, finding Satonaka and Hanamura's gazes slightly embarrassing.

"No, I've never had one. At least, as far as I'm aware" I muttered, feeling shy for some reason. With all the moving around I end up doing, I doubt I could hold a romantic relationship for too long anyways. I heard Satonaka stifle a laugh, causing my face to burn more red.

"Really? To be completely honest, I thought you'd be with someone by now" Satonaka chuckled, finding my relationship information entertaining. With a silent sigh, I cooled down my face and regained my composure.

"Well then, you might like this~!" Satonaka chirped, catching my attention. "Did you hear about that Midnight Channel thing that's got everybody talkin'?" I blinked at him in confusion as I swallowed my food.

"What's the 'Midnight Channel thing'?" I asked. Hanamura looked over at Satonaka with a realization look on his face, holding another piece of taiyoyaki in his hand.

"Oh yeah... Don't they say that it only comes on if you're like, watching it at the dead of midnight on a rainy day?" Hanamura asked, clarifying his information. Satonaka nodded as he picked up his cup of soda that Hanamura had also bought for us.

"Yeah, and they say that whoever comes up on the screen is supposed to be your soulmate!" Satonaka chirped, his face lighting up with excitement. "I hear it's gonna rain tonight, what do you say we check it out?!" I stared at him with a blank face, a little bit intrigued by the urban legend. But at the same time, it sounded rather stupid. Hanamura must have had a similar idea, his face turning bored.

"I'm amazed that you actually still fall for that ridiculous kiddy crap" Hanamura said bluntly, a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Satonaka gasped as he looked at Hanamura with a slightly betrayed look on his face. Hanamura looked over at me and made a smirk face.

"Now listen, this is why he can't ever nab himself a girlfriend-" Hanamura snickered, causing Satonaka's face to explode red with anger. Satonaka stood up from his seat and wrapped his hands around Hanamura's throat, causing Hanamura to squirm; making choking noises. Hanamura choked out multiple apologies as Satonaka smacked Hanamura's right cheek multiply.

"What'd you say?! We're both in the same boat, don't go making me drown by myself; you jerk!" Satonaka growled as I blinked nervously at thier scene. Suddenly, Hanamura stood up, panting as his eyes brimmed with life.

"Hey, look it's Saki-senpai!" Hanamura huffed, standing up from his chair with no hesitation.

"Saki-senpai!" Hanamura called out, waving his hand in the air with a big smile on his face before heading off somewhere. I looked over my shoulder as Satonaka grumbled, slowly sitting back down. Hanamura was heading towards a girl, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, faded navy jeans, navy shoes, and a red and white apron. Is she an employee here? The girl had thick, long, wavy, light-brown hair, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin.

"Who's that?" I asked before taking another bite of my taiyoyaki.

"That's Saki Konishi, a third year at our school. I like her, she's pretty cool. Not bad looking either. Her family runs a liquor store in the central district" Satonaka explained. I swallowed my food as I blinked in interest at the two. They chatted for a while, Satonaka eavesdropping at their conversation while I ate my food.

"You there!" Konishi suddenly called out to me. "You're the new transfer student, right?" Hanamura turned around to face me with a normal look on his face. Although, I couldn't help but think he looked a little bit upset.

"Yeah..." I replied with a nod. Konishi smiled a little as she pointed her thumb over to Hanamura.

"This guy doesn't have a whole lot of friends, so" Konishi began, causing Hanamura to look at her with a shocked expression. "I mean he's actually not bad, he's pretty nice; but if he starts bugging you then let me know okay?" Hanamura turned towards Konishi, looking a little hurt; but he didn't say anything. I blinked at her in surprise, thinking that what she said was a little rude.

"I don't find him to be annoying or anything. I think he's rather charming" I said to her with a deadpan face. Konishi raised an eyebrow as Hanamura blushed a little, Satonaka looking at me with a surprised look on his face. Konishi placed the back of her hand to her mouth- giggling a little, which to my ears sounded more like an stiffed sigh, catching the boys attention.

"I'm just joking around!" Konishi giggled stiffly. Hanamura rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile.

"Saki-senpai, that wasn't very funny..." Hanamura chuckled weakly. Konishi smiled at me as she placed a hand on her hip.

"Well, I think I better be taking off now. See you later" Konishi said as she began to walk away, a flick of the wrist waving us goodbye. I stared at Konishi's back, wondering if she as being rude of if she was tired. There was something about her that made me dislike her. Her personality so far seems almost... Fake, in my opinion.

"Uh, ah; Saki-senpai... About that thing I..." Hanamura stuttered, looking nervous as he slouched over a little. Konishi looked over her shoulder and nodded, still walking.

"Oh, uh-huh. Sounds fun. We can make plans during my next break, okay?" Konishi suggested as she turned back around. Hanamura's face brightened as he stood up straight, a big smile of joy creeping on his face. He then pumped his fists up into the air, jumping a little as Satonaka snickered at Hanamura's behavior.

"What's got you all excited?" Satonaka asked, a small smile forming on his face. Hanamura turned around with a proud look in his eyes. He then did a peace-sign as he held up a ticket for a movie called, 'Ranukoi ❤ Hachiito' that looked like a spy, romance movie. Satonaka smiled at Hanamura as he rested his head in his hand.

"Oh~, now I see where you're coming from!" Satonaka chirped. I blinked at Hanamura's ticket with confusion. Perhaps he gave one to Konishi?

"Hm? Oh hey, did you make that?" Satonaka asked, pointing at my hands. I looked down and saw the paper crane I had folded out of the napkin. It didn't look half bad. I looked over to Satonaka and offered it to him.

"You want it?" I asked, causing him to blink at me in surprise. He snickered as he waved his hand, telling me he didn't want it. I looked over to Hanamura and offered it, but he rubbed the back of his head while chuckling. I didn't understand why they didn't want it or why they were laughing.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

Fresh out of the bath, I walked downstairs to give Nanako some company. With everything that was happening recently, I couldn't leave Nanako alone. Nor could I be by myself.

Once I walked into the living room, the first thing that I noticed was that Dojima was slouched over on the couch while Nanako watched the television. Was Dojima asleep? I blinked in surprise at Dojima's presences as I took a seat next to Nanako, since she was sitting in front of the television. Noticing me, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at me.

"Dad came home while you were in the bath" Nanako explained, noticing my slightly surprised expression. I nodded in reply, telling her I get it now as we both turned our attention to the television. I blinked in surprise once I saw our school uniform on screen. A girl was being interviewed apparently, but their face wasn't being shown. She had familiar wavy light-brown hair.

 **"** ** _What did you think when you found her?_** **"** the interviewer asked, holding up his microphone.

 **"** ** _Well...! I only..._** **"** the girl began, her voice distorted. I blinked in realization when I heard her speak. The girl reminded me of Saki Konishi, Hanamura's senpai. So she was the one who saw the corpse of Miss Yamano's body? That would certainly explain why she was tired today.

 **"** ** _Did you see anyone who looked, suspicious to you?_** **"** the interviewer asked, his enthusiasm perplexing me and possibly Konishi at the time.

 **"** ** _No! Not really...!_** **"** Konishi replied, her voice sounding tense through the distortion. I heard a soft snore behind, me causing me to look over my shoulder. Dojima was sleeping, snoring away as he tried hard not to fall forward.

"I think Dad is asleep" Nanako said to herself as she stood up and jogged over to the closet. With a little tug, Nanako pulled out a small blanket and walked back over to Dojima.

"He was up again all last night..." Nanako began to explain as she placed the blanket onto Dojima. There was a slight loneliness and sadness in her voice. I stared at her as she lowered her head a little.

"He said that he had to because of work..." Nanako mumbled. My eyes softened as I watched her face sink. My heart really went out to her. A familiar chime rang into my ears, causing me to look over to the television. It as the Junes commercial.

 **"** ** _At Junes, everyday is 'Costumer Appreciation Day'! Come see for yourself and get in touch with our products!_** " a cheerful woman's voice said as produce with cheap prices began to float along the screen. Soon the top of a store appeared, a sign with orange letters spelling out, 'Junes'.

 **"** ** _Every day's great at your Junes~_** **"** the woman sang, a simple yet cheerful tone in the background. Nanako smiled happily as sh began to sway to the sides, her brown pigtails bouncing in sync.

"Every day's great at your Junes~!" Nanako sang, just like last time. I did a thumbs up towards the television screen as a soft pink cloaked my cheeks.

"I'm going to take my bath now!" Nanako giggled before skipping off to the bathroom. I stared after her as I stood up. I looked over to Dojima and stared at his sleeping position. There was no way that I could carry Dojima over to his bed. I scratched my right cheek as I instantly shook the thought out. Dojima as only a few inches taller than me, so it might work.

With a confident deep breath, I walked over to Dojima and slowly lifted his right arm over my left shoulder. His snoring hitched as his body twitched, unconsciously standing up with me. Even though he was unconsciously walking with me, he was still heavy that most of my strength started to drain. I gently slugged my left arm over his right shoulder and slowly dragged him over to his bedroom. By the time I had pulled his futon covers over him, I was exhausted. I crawled upstairs with heavy arms and legs, softly closing my bedroom door behind me.

I plopped down onto the small couch in my room and let out a sigh. I stared blankly at the small television in front of me, suddenly remembering about the urban legend that Satonaka had wanted me to try out. I looked over to the clock and saw that I still had a good four hours left until midnight. I rotated my shoulders and walked over to my desk. Time for some homework.

* * *

3rd POV

Four hours had passed, nothing but the sound of Hitomi's pencil scratching onto the paper, the soft lullaby of the pitter-pattering rain, and the ticking of her clock could be heard. With an exhausted sigh, Hitomi stretched out on to her chair and looked over to the clock on her wall. It was 11:59.

Hitomi stood up from her desk and walked over to her small television. She stood in front of it and stared intently at the blank screen. All she could see was her reflection, her short silver hair slightly messy from helping Dojima get to bed earlier, her v-neck gray shirt slightly crooked; showing her left shoulder while her normal expression stayed unchanged.

Hitomi blushed slightly, her facial expression not changing as she blinked nervously. This was possibly the most ridiculous thing she has ever done in a long time. Feel a little embarrassing. Hitomi covered her mouth as she yawned, ready to go to bed. When suddenly, a soft yellow light catches her eye. Hitomi slowly looks back over to the screen and saw that it had turn yellow, static covering the screen. In the middle of the screen was a girl, by the looks of the outline. Hitomi couldn't exactly tell, because of how static the screen was; but it looked like a girl.

Hitomi's eyes were glued to the screen in shock as she blinked nervously. Suddenly, her head throbbed. Her ears pounded. Her head felt it was being pressed against the corner of a table, the sound of nails on a chalk bored screeching into her ears.

" _ **I... Am thou**_ " a mysterious voice began, causing Hitomi to stagger as she placed a hand on to her right eye, staggering backwards. Hitomi was seeing double, the walls seeming like they were vibrating. Hitomi gasped for air as sweat began to roll down her skin.

" _ **Thou art I**_ " the mysterious voice continued. " _ **Ye shall open the door...**_ " Hitomi tried desperately to keep her balance, reaching her left arm in any direction in hope to find something to help her stand. The pain was growing, her heart was racing, and her breaths were short. The girl from the television screen turned forward and faced Hitomi, causing Hitomi to reach out for the television. Her hand trembled in pain, shaking uncontrollably.

Hoping to steady herself, Hitomi placed her hand onto the television screen. Instead, her hand began to sink in, causing Hitomi to gasp in surprise. It was almost as if the figure on the other side of the screen was pulling her in, quickly engulfing Hitomi's body. However, due to how small her television was, Hitomi was able to stop herself from getting swallowed and tried to pull herself out. Using the strength of her left leg, she was able to remove herself, her balance giving up on her. The back of Hitomi's head smashed into her small coffee table, causing Hitomi to groan in pain while rolling onto her side. Once the pain slowly vanished, Hitomi looked back over to the television, seeing that it was blank once again.

"What in the world... Just happen?" Hitomi asked herself as she gently rubbed the back of her head.

* * *

 ** _Thursday, April 14th_**

Hitomi's POV

I fidgeted nervously in my seat, feeling embarrassed. School was over, and I was getting the courage of telling Satonaka and Hanamura what had happened to me last night. The two boys were gathered around my desk, Amagi standing next to Satonaka.

"So... In regards to last night" I began, closing my eyes in embarrassment.

"Did you see it?" Satonaka asked, his voice sounding serious. I nodded in reply as I took a silent deep breath.

"Well... After I saw the figure on the screen, I started to hear voices. And my television tried to eat me. But it was too small to eat me, so I ended up hitting my head on my bedroom furniture" I explained to them. I opened my eyes and looked up at Hanamura and Satonaka, only to see that they had surprised looks on their faces.

"What?!" Satonaka and Hanamura said in disbelief as they blinked at me, causing Amagi to stare at the three of us in confusion.

"You went _inside_ of the T.V?!" Satonaka asked leaning a little bit forward. I nodded as I looked at them with a slightly more serious face.

"Yeah" I said with a slightly serious tone, showing them that I wasn't kidding. With a tale like mine, there was no way that normal people would believe that.

"Well, all that Nise and I saw in our televisions were some weird shadow people" Hanamura said as he looked over to Satonaka who nodded in agreement. Noticing Amagi's confused look, Satonaka looked over to her with a questioning look.

"What about you? We're talking about the bizarre Midnight Channel. You seen anything?" Satonaka asked, stuffing his hand into his pants pocket. Amagi looked over at him with a dazed look, shaking her head.

"No, sorry. I just..." Amagi began, when she suddenly gasped in realization. She looked behind her and noticed the time, turning back to Satonaka with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, but I have to go" Amagi said in a rushed tone, causing Satonaka to blink in surprise.

"What, got a bunch of work you got to do at home?" Satonaka asked. Amagi nodded with a slightly guilty look on her face.

"Yeah, sorry..." Amagi said softly, sounding a bit guilty for some reason. Satonaka smiled at her and waved his free hand.

"Nah, it's cool. Hang in there, 'kay?" Satonaka encouraged. Amagi nodded and waved a small goodbye to Hanamura and me before rushing out of the room. I stared after Amagi who had already left, wondering what sort of lifestyle she had. Were her parents strict? I hope that she wasn't running herself ragged.

"Listen Narukami-chan" Hanamura began, catching Satonaka and my attention to him. "I know chances are that you were just dreaming it, but not fitting inside of the T.V because it was too small sounds kind of believable." I opened my mouth to argue with him, but slowly closed it. I wasn't going to argue about something that seemed unrealistic.

"Hey, what do you say we give it a shot on a bigger T.V?" Satonaka suggested, a grin forming on his face. I looked over at him with a surprised look on my face. Hanamura grinned as well as he chuckled.

"Good idea! We could try with one of the big screens over at Junes! That should fit ya!" Hanamura joked, laughing afterward. I blinked in surprise as I remembered something.

* * *

A drop of sweat rolled down my jaw as Hanamura chuckled weakly while Satonaka smirked. We were standing in the middle of the electronics department, right in front of the TV aisle, where wide flat screens showed us quality videos varying from slideshows to the news.

"Wait, so we're seriously doing this?" Hanamura asked, his weak chuckling finally gone. Satonaka tied both his hands behind his head as he grinned.

"Yeah, why not? I've been wanting a new T.V anyway" Satonaka chirped as I began to look around the department. For some place that sold electronics, it was rather empty. There weren't even any clerks around.

"Hey, be a bro and use your connections to cut me a deal!" Satonaka cheered, catching my attention. Hanamura smiled brightly.

"Of course I can- NOT!" Hanamura said, his face and tone turning into a 'no-way' feeling. I titled my head slightly at them, catching Hanamura's attention as Satonaka sulked.

"Ah, well you see my dad happens to be the manager of this store" Hanamura began to explain. He crossed his arms over his chest as he smiled. "Just like you, I also transferred into this place from Tokyo. I guess almost six months ago." Hanamura winked at me as he placed hi right hand onto his chin.

"Could it be fate that we've met?" Hanamura cooed, causing Satonaka to stiffen. I blinked at him in surprise. I didn't think that he would be interested into fate and such.

"Perhaps so. Fate is a mysterious thing" I replied with a momentous voice, causing Hanamura to stiffen now, a slight pink on his cheeks. Satonaka sighed out loud as he rested his elbow on to Hanamura's shoulder.

"I guess Junes does make life easier, but all the local shops at the central district became sorta empty now" Satonaka said with a slightly distant look in his eyes. Hanamura turned his attention over to Satonaka, his eyebrow twitching.

"Don't say that stuff straight to my face!" Hanamura said with a defeated tone. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that the television we stood in front of was playing the news. I looked at the screen with slightly wide eyes. It was a repeat of the interview from last night. The image that I saw from the midnight channel flashed into my mind as I twitched. Was the persona I saw on the channel last night... Could it be Konishi?

"This girl..." I muttered, trying to catch the others attention.

"Oh, I guess she does look a little like Saki-senpai, doesn't she?" Satonaka said as my eyes continued to stare at the television. "Everyone in class is talking about it. They all think that Saki-senpai was the one they were interviewing there."

"For real? That explains why she skipped school today" I heard Hanamura say as I slowly began to walk towards the television. I was able to stick my and into my television last night. I wonder if I could do it again, despite it not being midnight or raining at the moment.

I stare at the screen in front of me and reach towards the microphone the interviewer had. I had to admit that I was little nervous. With a screen this big, I could fall in if I was able to enter the screen like last night. I was just going to poke the screen to prove to myself if what I had experience last night was real or not.

The moment my finger touched the screen, it ripples like water; a white color rippling around my hand. The interview that was once on screen diapered, making the screen blank. I gasped softly in surprise. There's a gentle tingle around my finger where it touches the screen, but it wasn't painful. I don't feel anything on the other side, either. I slowly began to stick my whole hand inside. I suddenly heard Satonaka exclaim in shock, Hanamura exclaiming shortly after. They must have had their attention on me.

"Your hand went right in!" Satonaka said with a shocked tone, moving over to my right shoulder, Hanamura right behind us.

"How are you pulling this off?!" Hanamura asked, his tone a little softer than Satonaka's.

"Whoa, that's awesome!" Satonaka said as he shook me a little. My eyes remained glued on to my hand that was inside the television. I leaned in a little bit, as I wiggled my fingers, confirming that there was nothing on the other side.

"I think I can go in even further" I said as I blinked at the screen.

"Go in further?! Narukami-chan, don't!" Satonaka warned me as I slowly leaned my shoulder towards the screen, letting my arm be engulfed. There was really nothing inside the television. I heard Hanamura and Satonaka panic about something as I embraced my self to stick my head inside. There was something on the other side of the screen that was drawing me in. I suddenly felt a bump on my back, causing me to fall in.

I squeezed my legs and eyes together as I held my skirt down while I fell. I was so terrified that my voice had been lost, not allowing me to scream in fear. I heard two other screams as I fell, making me assume that Hanamura and Satonaka had fallen in with me. That must be what bumped me before.

I'm not falling for long when my back collides with a hard ground. It hurts, but I don't think I suffered any serious damage. Hanamura and Satonaka landed not far from me. The three of us groaned with pain, rubbing the parts of our bodies that ached. I tugged at my skirt slightly as I sat up on my butt, looking around our surroundings.

The area was covered with a thick yellow fog, obstructing our vision. We're standing in what looks like a TV studio with metal scaffolding around us and stage lights above.

"Ow...! That hurt..." Hanamura groaned, causing my attention to turn to him.

"Holy crap... Where are we?" Satonaka asked as he stood up, his face dumbfounded. He walked over to me and helped me up to my feet. I nodded a thank you to him as he began to look around. I dusted off my skirt while keeping a hand near my chest. Satonaka looked around our surroundings as I looked at him.

"I... I think we're inside the television" I replied calmly. Satonaka flinched at my response and smiled wearily at me.

"Don't stand there calmly and give me crazy talk! It's freaking me out!" Satonaka shouted nervously, obviously shaken up by the events. I lowered my head a little, feeling a little bit guilty.

"Sorry..." I muttered, causing Satonaka to tense up slightly.

"Ah, no no no! Don't apologize! My fault for shouting like that" Satonaka stammered. I noticed that there was a soft pink on his cheeks as he looked away.

"Ah man, this hurts too much not to be real" Hanamura groaned. I looked over at him and saw that he was rubbing his butt.

"I think I busted my ass" Hanamura complained looking over his shoulder at his butt. I sweat dropped slightly as I blinked at him.

"I'm so surprised..." I muttered to myself, with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Hey, how'd we get in here anyway? I don't see an entrance anywhere!" Satonaka said with stunned tone, looking around for an exit. I blinked at him before looking up, recalling our entrance. We fell from above, causing our present throbbing bodies. But with the fog so thick, I could barely see anything.

"I can't see anything through this fog..." I complained slightly as I took a step closer to Satonaka, not wanting to be separated.

"S-So what do we do now?!" Hanamura asked as he ran over to Satonaka and me, a panicked look on his face.

"What are you asking me for?! I don't know!" Satonaka replied, a nervous tone in his voice. He looked around the area with a scared look on his face.

"All I want to do is go home, like, immediately" Satonaka shuddered. I looked over at Satonaka and Hanamura as they began to argue, my hands in between them.

"Why don't we all just calm down?" I asked, trying to calm them down. Hanamura and Satonaka began to grit their teeth, trying desperately to calm down. I suddenly heard a squeaky noise, being fallowed by another squeaky noise. I slowly looked behind Satonaka and saw a shadowy figure slowly walk towards us. I took a few steps back as I felt the blood run down my face.

"W-W-What's that...?!" Satonaka stuttered.

"Run" I said with a calm tone. Instantly, Hanamura and Satonaka turned around and began to run while I fallowed in pursuit. Hanamura lead Satonaka and I up some stairs, on to some sort of platform.

After running for what felt like forever, we finally found a door and barged through it, closing the door after me. I leaned my back against the door as my legs gave up slightly. Hanamura and Satonaka held onto their knees as they panted.

"Finally... It took us forever to ditch that weirdo!" Satonaka panted. I looked up inside the room and my eyes widened.

"Where... Where are we?" I asked, my voice trembling a little. Hanamura looked over at me with a confused face before his own eyes widened.

W-What the hell?" Satonaka muttered, backing up to where Hanamura was standing. We were inside what looked like a bedroom. The fog seems lighter here, making it easier for us to see what was inside.

There was a balcony seen through a glass door that had white curtains cloak the sides, a two cabinets in the corners with a closet. There was a nice, clean white futon in front of us, causing me to blink in confusion. I looked over to the wall, taking a few steps back to fully observe the wall. Pictures with the face slashed off filled the walls and had multiple colors splashed over them. I looked back over to the futon, finding it rather strange that in an empty yet messy room, the futon was perfectly clean. Nearby the futon is a chair with a rope and a red scarf dangling over it.

"Dude... That chair and rope... That kind of arrangement is never good..." Hanamura muttered, drawing my attention to the nose and chair. I stared at the nose, noticing a pattern on it. It sort of looked like... A scarf?

"This place is messed up...!" Satonaka vociferate, glancing around the room.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hanamura suddenly shrieked, causing me to jump slightly in surprise. Satonaka and I turned around to see Hanamura rush over to the corner or the room.

"That's it, I can't hold it anymore!" Hanamura shouted as the sound of something getting unzipped caught my attention. I looked over to Hanamura's back and blinked with a confused look. He was slightly scrunched over while fidgeting.

"Whoa, dude! What are you doing?!" Satonaka shouted, covering my view as he stood in front of me. "You can't piss here in someone's room! Not with a girl around!" I felt my face heat up as I blinked several times. So _that's_ what Hanamura was doing.

"Well then, get her outta here!" Hanamura shouted back, a little bit frustrated. Satonaka waves his hands in the air like a bird.

"With that weirdo from earlier wondering about?! Hell no!" Satonaka hissed. I looked up at Satonaka's head, my eyes slightly wide in surprise.

"Then go out with her and let me piss in peace!" Hanamura bawled, desperation in his voice. I sighed silently as I rubbed the back of my head. I turned around and opened the door, silently exiting the room for Hanamura's sake.

"Why can't you just piss now?!" I heard Satonaka shout in frustration. I knocked on the door, letting them know that I had left. I turned around and saw something that looks like a bear. But at the same time, it didn't look like a bear. Its fur is blue and it wears a red and white suit with a zipper around the collar, three red heart shaped buttons going down the middle. What's more, its face looks more like something out of a cartoon rather than a realistic bear. I let out a scream, quickly covering my mouth to silent it.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" I head Hanamura ask as he and Satonaka ran to me. Satonaka gasped a little in surprise as the others noticed the strange being in front of me.

"What is _that_?" Hanamura muttered, bewildered by the strange creature. The creature stared at us with surprised eyes before glaring at us, growling softly.

"I'll ask you the same thing!" the creature hissed, pointing at Hanamura. I blinked in surprise, finding it surprising that the creature was a female of whatever species it was.

"Oh my god, it can talk?!" Satonaka exclaimed. Everything was going by so fast, I don't think poor Satonaka could handle it. I hesitantly placed a hand on his arm, trying to help him become a little bit more comfortable. It worked a little bit as I felt his body relax a bit.

"Of course! I am a bear!" the female creature snapped. "Sheesh, I lived here since bear-ever!" Oh, so it's a bear. That's good to know. I think. Hanamura flinched at the sudden bears attitude and took a step forward to it.

"What is up with this thing?! It is _beyond_ creepy!" Hanamura said with an annoyed and frustrated tone. The bear shivered at Hanamura's slightly loud voice and placed it's hands- er, _paws_ \- on the top of her head.

"Come on, keep your voices down please!" the bear began, a cowering look on it's face. the bear began to frail its arms up and down like a bird as a nervous look formed on it's face, "Now go on, run along and go back to your den!" The three of us stared at the bear, Hanamura's face a little more on the annoyed side. I blinked in surprise as a soft strange cry echoed into my ears. The bear suddenly jumped and began to frail about. It pulled out a pair of square dark green glasses, a small selection of rainbow colors at the sides.

"Here! Use this and just go, hurry! Hurry! The shadows! The shadows will-!" the bear shivered, clearly terrified for it's life. I took the square glasses it offered me as Satonaka and Hanamura murmured to each other in confusion. I hesitantly unfolded the temples, slowly bringing the glasses to my face. I closed my eyes as I slid the earpiece of the glasses behind my ears. They were surprisingly comfortable.

"Huh? Narukami-chan, you actually put those things on?" I heard Hanamura ask, slightly surprised. I opened my eyes and blinked in surprise. The fog had completely vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place.

Since I had a nice clear view of our surrounds as compared to when we first ran through here, I noticed that we were in some sort of apartment complex. There are building's surrounding the building. We seem to be on the third floor or so at the complex, making the buildings be at eye level with Satonaka. The sky was red instead of blue, and there wasn't even a hint of clouds anywhere.

As I looked around our surroundings, I saw something bubbling down the hall on the left. I blinked in surprise as I gasped softly.

"Something there...!" I muttered, catching the others attention. I took a step forward as I saw something slimy looking fall from the bubbly motion. The bear suddenly shrieked in fear and ran as fast as her little legs could go, leaving Hanamura, Satonaka, and myself in a daze of confusion.

"They're here!" I heard the bear scream. I blinked in surprise after the little bear as Hanamura placed a hand on his hip.

"What was her deal?" Hanamura asked. I gasped a little as I saw something black and slimy make its way towards us, a frowning blue mask near the front.

"W-What are those things?!" Satonaka stuttered, his body visibly trembling. I tensed up a little as I took a step back to where Satonaka stood. I had to get everyone out of here, Satonaka and Hanamura couldn't take anymore of this place. The strange blobs rose into the air and formed into two hovering pink spheres with black stripes and huge slobbering mouths. Hanamura stammered strange noises, completely baffled by what was happening that he couldn't find any words. Satonaka suddenly let out a sharp gasp and began to run forward, dodging the strange monsters. I pushed Hanamura forward as we began to fallow behind Satonaka.

We took a quick turn to the left were the stairs were and run down them. I looked behind me to see if the monsters were fallowing, jumping down the stairs. Right as I landed at the bottom of the stairs, the strange monsters zoomed towards my direction; causing me to start running again. Satonaka and Hanamura ran blindly ahead, not knowing what directions to take. Soon, we were able to exit the apartment building, entering some sort of playground area. I noticed something fly over my head and looked up, only to see the strange monsters fly ahead of Satonaka and Hanamura.

"Satonaka-san, Hanamura-san; in front of you!" I called out. Hanamura flinched at my voice and looked up, noticing the creatures. He took a leap backwards towards where I was as Satonaka stopped for a breath. Suddenly, one of the strange creatures appeared in front of Satonaka and licked him. Poor Satonaka must have been trying to act tough through all this, because after getting licked by the strange monster; he instantly passed out.

"Satonaka-san!" I called out.

"Augh! It just slimed Nise!" Hanamura shouted as he froze at Satonaka's knocked out body. Hanamura fell backwards and landed on his butt as the monsters began to fly around the three of us. I felt a strange tingling sensation run down my body as I froze in place. I tried to move my legs to where Satonaka and Hanamura was at, but no matter how hard I tried; I wouldn't budge.

"Crap... Crap...! I'm finished!" Hanamura muttered, his body looking frozen with fear. Perhaps he was stuck like I was as well? My body began to tremble in slight fear and worry as I looked over to Hanamura.

"I can't... Move my legs...!" I exclaimed softly. The three monsters gathered in front of Hanamura and I and lunged forward. I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut, covering my head with my arms as Hanamura screamed slightly, terrified for his life. I gritted my teeth slightly as I continued to try to move my legs. I can't let this happen. I can't let this happen to Hanamura, Satonaka, nor myself!

I have to protect them!

" _ **I... Am thou**_ " a mysterious voice began.

" _ **Thou art I...**_ " I opened my eyes as a familiar pain shoots through my head. It seemed as if time had stopped. I couldn't hear or feel anything. I could hear my heart, steadily beating, echoing loudly into my ears. A soft blue light shimmers in front of my face, catching my attention.

I slowly looked up, noticing that the strange monsters had froze in place. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that Hanamura was staring at me in awe. But what had caught my attention most, was the main source of the blue light. A card, with a silhouette of someone I don't know but somehow felt familiar. The card begins to glow and warmth spreads through my body. There's something inside me, something I was never aware was there until now. It's coursing through my veins, yearning to be released.

Images from what has happened to me so far quickly flash into my mind. The velvet room with Igor and Margret, Konishi being interviewed, the moon tarot card, my hand entering the television during the Midnight Channel, the tarot cards, the news in regards to the incident, the bedroom we were just in, and the dream I had the first night I came here.

" _ **Thou has open thine eyes... The time... is NOW!**_ "

A comforting and yet exhausting sensation rushed through me as I gasped, needing air. I was suddenly surrounded by a light blue light, trapping me and keeping those unwanted out.

"Per..." I muttered, causing my legs to become warm; a blue flame burning at my feet.  
"So…" I muttered, causing my hand to tense; the card igniting with a blue flame.  
"Na!" I said with a confident tone, raising both of my hands to the card. Using both hands, I smashed the card with surprising ease as my hands tied together in front of my heart. There's a sound like shattering glass and my palm feels like I've been squeezing needles, but the sensation passes and the power I feel growing inside me flows out of my body.

The silhouette from the card manifests over me and other details fill it in. It looks like a man, wearing a long black coat and a metal helmet obscuring its face. In one claw shaped hand is a cross between a spear and a sword, the weight of which I can feel in my hands even though I'm not touching it.

The strange monsters that had stopped in front of me, began to move once again. They hesitantly swayed to the sides, as if deciding whether to attack me or not. I know why. They've realized I pose a threat.

"Naru...kami?" I heard Hanamura mutter. One of the monsters finally decided to attack as it charged towards me. I glare at the strange creatures and the man from the card swings his blade. He cleaves the monster in half and it dissolves into black mist. Hanamura screamed a little in surprise at the mist. My body had suddenly became warm, causing me to breath heavily. With my right hand, I slid two fingers onto my yellow stash and untied it.

The other monsters shakes off their fear and shoots forward at me. Its teeth clamp down on the man's head and shoulder. I gasp in pain, feeling the mans pain.

"Get off me!" I growled as I swung my right arm. The man uses one hand, reaches up and grabs one of the monsters that bit on to his shoulder; yanking it off his head. He did the same thing with the creature on it's head, sending that creature flying. One of them flies straight back to the man, in which the man stabs the monster right in the middle of its mouth. The monster became stuck on the mans sward. The other monster floated back up into the air and charged towards the man. The man used threw the monster off its sward, causing it to disappear into black mist. I closed my eyes as I tied my hands in front of my chest. A name surfaced into my mind.

"Izanagi!" I called out. I flashed my eyes open as the man extended his arm out towards the remaining monster. Heat fills my body and a there's a tingling sensation as power builds up inside me. Izanagi released a strike of lightning, cutting through the monster. Bright light and thunder fills the playground for a moment with the monsters silhouette as a stark contrast. When the light and sound fades away, the monster had disappeared.

I was panting at this point, my legs struggling to keep me standing. Izanagi soon disappeared, as I felt a comforting feeling rush through my body. With an exhausted sigh, I fell to the ground; my knees touching each other as I sat on my butt. My head lowered in exhaustion, letting my hair fall forward and rest on my shoulders, leaving the back of my neck bare.

"Are you okay?" I heard Hanamura ask. "You were awesome...!" Once my breath had finally regulated, I lifted my head and looked over to Hanamura. He staggered up to his feet and rushed over to me, an awed expression with a slight hint of worry in his eyes.

"W-What was that?" Hanamura asks with awe in his voice. "Did I hear you say Persona? You think I could do that, too?" The last part is spoken with excitement. I blinked at him with a slightly surprised expression as I looked down at my hands.

"I'm not entirely sure... What had happened..." I muttered. I was exhausted, even talking was tiring for me. Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of me, offering to help me up. I looked up and saw Hanamura smiling a little at me, his hand in front of me. I took it with a light grip, Hanamura pulling me up to my feet.

"Thank you" I said softly, looking up at Hanamura. He smiled a little before turning around, facing Satonaka's still unconscious body.

"I've had enough with this place. Let's try to wake up Nise and get the hell out of here" Hanamura said with a slight groan. I blinked at him in surprise, hearing a little bit of uneasiness in his voice.

"Hanamura-san, are you alright?" I asked, worried about his condition. He looked at me with slightly pink cheeks, a little surprised. He nodded with a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm fine. But hey, there's no need to call me 'san'. 'Hanamura' or 'Yosuke' is fine with me" Hanamura said with a slightly embarrassed tone. I nodded in understanding, causing Hanamura to smile slightly as he turned around and walked over to Satonaka's body. He knelt down and shook Satonaka a little.

"Nise! Nise! Come one, Nise...! Wake up!" Hanamura said while shaking Satonaka. After a moment of no response. Yosuke placed his left hand next to his mouth and leaned forward a little.

"Inaba is running out of steak" Hanamura whispered. Satonaka groaned in response, his eyes twitching. Nise slowly opened his eyes and looked over to us, his face looking dazed. Hanamura and I leaned forward a little in relief, glad that Satonaka hadn't diapered on us.

"It's about time" Hanamura joked, causing Satonaka to give him a bored look.

"Are you alright?" I asked. Satonaka looked at me in surprise, noticing my untied stash as he slowly sat up.

"What happened to the monsters...?" Satonaka asked, looking around with a slightly dazed look. Hanamura smiled as he balanced himself by sitting on his knees.

"They're long gone!" Hanamura replied, causing Satonaka to blink in surprise.

"They are?" Satonaka asked, surprised by the news. Hanamura looked over at me with a smile then looked back at Satonaka.

"Narukami-chan slaughtered them!" Hanamura chirped, as if being proud of me for some reason. Satonaka gasped in surprise as he looked at me with wide eyes.

"For real?!" Satonaka exclaimed, not fully believing Hanamura's words. Hanamura looked at me with sparkling eyes, casing me to blink with a surprised look.

"It was freaking cool too!" Hanamura cheered. I felt myself blush slightly at the sudden attention. I brushed off the compliments and surprised look that the two were giving me as I extended my hand to Satonaka.

"Let's not fuss over that right now" I began as Satonaka grabbed my hand. I began to pull him up, Hanamura standing up on his own while I continued; "It would be best if we leave as soon as we can. We don't want to encounter another one of those strange monsters." Hanamura and Satonaka nod in agreement as they looked at me in slight confusion.

"Yeah, that'd be best" Hanamura began. He rubbed the back of his head with a nervous look on his face. "But uh, how are we gonna to do that?" I thought for a moment as I placed my left hand onto my chin. It seemed that the bear from earlier knew a lot about this place. If we find it again and ask nicely, maybe it'll help us out of here. I looked up at the others and crossed my arms below my chest.

"We need to find that strange bear from earlier" I instructed, causing them to exclaim in surprise.

"Are you serious?! We don't know if that, _thing_ , is even on our side!" Satonaka said with a nervous tone, trembling slightly. I looked over at him and held onto his sleeve, causing him to flinch in surprise.

"So far, that bear seems to be the only thing with information about this world. Don't worry, we'll find it alright?" I said with a gentle tone, trying to get Satonaka to relax. Its probably because everything was happening so fast, but I found Satonaka to be a rather nervous and easily-frightened fellow. Satonaka blushed slightly at my words and nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Alright then... We're do you think we should look first?" Hanamura asked, crossing his arms over his chest. I looked over to the direction we had used when we first came here. I pointed forward on ahead, behind Satonaka with a confident look.

"Let's go back to where we first came from" I suggested. I looked over to Hanamura, who had a confused look on his face and explained, "Not only does that place seem a little bit more safe, but I recall the bear running in that direction." Hanamura nodded slowly, taking in my reasoning. I looked over to Satonaka and offered my hand that was once holding on to his arm.

"Would you like to hold my hand as we walk back?" I offered, wanting to make Satonaka as relaxed as possible. Hanamura stifled a chuckle as Satonaka blushed in embarrassment. He turned around and began to walk.

"I-I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though" Satonaka stammered, clearing his throat shortly after speaking. I blinked at him in slight confusion before mentally shrugging it off and fallowing him. I then remembered how Hanamura acted when the monsters appeared and look at him, holding out a hand.

"No thanks, I'm good" Hanamura sheepishly refused before I could even offer my hand. I lowered my hand and looked forward, mentally shrugging.


	3. The Death of Saki Konishi

3rd POV

"You... need an exit?" the bear asked, blinking in surprise at the safe appearances of the trio. The girl with the short silver hair, Hitomi Narukami, seemed to have her yellow ribbon un-done, though. The boy with the bowl shaped haircut, Nise Satonaka, sighed in relief and slight exhaustion as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"We finally found you..." he sighed. Nise wanted nothing more than to get out of the strange world that he and the others were in. The other boy with the slightly unkempt fawn colored hair, Yosuke Hanamura, leaned forward towards the bear while standing behind Nise and next to Hitomi.

"Look, you seem like the type to know the in's and out's of this place _pretty_ well!" Yosuke interrogated, trying to sound a little powerful. But the bear didn't really pay attention to what he was saying

"That doesn't matter right now! What did you do with the shadows?!" the bear asked, her voice squeaking here and there as she flailed her arms.

"You talkin' about those monsters?" Nise asked, blinking at the bear with slightly questioning eyes.

"Yeah, yeah!" the bear said as it bowed a few times, unable to nod it's head. Yosuke placed a hand on his hip as it raised an eyebrow.

"What are they?" Yosuke asked, a bit of curiosity in his voice. Hitomi suddenly got an idea in her head as she blinked at the bear.

"Did you make those shadow things?" she asked, a slight hint of doubt in her mind. Looking at the strange female bear, Hitomi thought that there was no way it could do something like make those dangerous monsters. But at the same time, Hitomi had no clue what the world was like in the first place, so it wouldn't hurt to ask. However, the bear growled in annoyance at Hitomi's question, feeling offended that she would ask that.

"Now don't be a dummy bear!" the bear squeaked, anger in her voice.

"You know, I've had just about up to _here_ " the bear began, raising it's left paw up to it's head to show how annoyed she was, "with people barging up in here and railing up the shadows!" The bear stomped her foot down in annoyance, and a stack of TVs appear in a puff of smoke. Yosuke and Nise exclaimed in surprise, stunned at how the stack of televisions magically appeared.

"T-T.V's?" Hitomi stuttered, slightly stunned like the others.

"Now go on, get out of here!" the bear squeaked as she pointed at the TV's. Hitomi, Nise, and Yosuke blinked at the bear in confusion; unsure of how to enter the TV's for they looked to small and were stacked up to a number of three. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the bear walked over to behind the trio, causing them to turn around in confusion.

"As you can see, I'm a beary busy bear!" the bear squeaked as she started to push Hitomi backwards. Hitomi, Nise, and Yosuke started to walk backwards; nervous as to what might happen if they touch the bear. Soon, Yosuke and Nise felt their backs hit something cold like glasses which they assume if the television screens. The bear continued to push the trio, causing Hitomi to have her back against the boys making them blush a little. Soon, the TV became soft at the touch of Hitomi's back and they began to fall backwards.

* * *

Hitomi's POV

Just like before, we fell to the ground in a pile. I was thankfully able to land on my hands and knees in front of the television, compare to the way that Satonaka and Hanamura landed which was their face planted to the ground. I noticed that my glasses I wore inside the television laid in front of me, in perfect condition. I sat on my bottom as I grabbed the glasses, tucking them onto my collar for safe keeping since I had no pockets.

"Aw man, that hurt...!" Satonaka groaned as he rolled on to his back.

"I hate that bear...!" Hanamura groaned, using his elbows to sit up. Suddenly, a intercom bell sounded into the store; causing me to blink in surprise.

"Attention, Shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor" the intercom began. "Why not try the delicious, fresh produce Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight? All ages are invited to take advantages of this incredible bargain!" The three of us blinked in surprise at the marbled green and white diamond floor of Junes, causing Satonaka to exclaim in joy.

"Yes! Thank god! I love that bear!" Hanamura exclaimed in joy as he and Satonaka high fived each other. I let out a soft sigh of relief as I slowly got to my feet. As the others laughed and cheered with joy, quickly jumping to their feet; I spot a familiar image next to the TV we fell out of. I walked over to the pillar where the poster hung from and saw that it was a poster of Misuzu Hiiragi, the singer involved in the scandal.

"I saw this poster back there..." I muttered, recalling the posters from that room back inside the television.

"Yeah, that's Misuzu Hiiragi" I heard Satonaka began, walking towards me. "Isn't she the woman who's all over the news right now? They're saying her hubby was having an affair with that reporter who just died, Ms. Yamano."

"So what? I don't get it? What does she have anything to do with that freaky room?" I heard Hanamura ask as he walked over next to me, nervously staring at the poster.

"Maybe... There's a connection between Ms. Yamano and that reporters death?" I thought out loud, causing Satonaka and Hanamura to stare at me with wide eyes. Suddenly, Hanamura screamed in urgency, causing me and Satonaka to jump.

"Don't go there! I-I mean, I don't think my heart can take it!" Hanamura begged, taking a few steps away from the poster. He suddenly grabbed his crotch as his face paled, slouching over a little. I blinked in realization, slightly panicking. Hanamura still needed to go to the restroom!

"Aw man, this is bad! I still need to take a leak!" Hanamura murmured, jumping about like a fool. Satonaka sighed at Hanamura with a bored look on his face as I made a shooing motion with my hands.

"Go, before you get an infection!" I instructed, which Hanamura quickly obeyed; running off somewhere. Satonaka suddenly shivered as he hugged himself.

"This whole thing is starting to give me the chills...!" Satonaka shivered. He rubbed his arms together as he nodded me goodbye.

"I'm feeling a little woozy, so I'm going home. You do the same, 'kay?" Satonaka said as he turned around and began to leave.

"Okay" I replied. I looked back over to the poster and stared at it. Back inside that room, there were a bunch of these posters with Hiiragi's face scratched out. If the room really did have something to with Yamano's death, why would there be posters of Hiiragi in it? Perhaps Yamano was jealous of Hiiragi for being married to the man they both loved? But then, why was there a noose and a chair also inside that room?

I blinked in surprise as an idea popped into my mind. Being involved in a scandal isn't very good for a person's reputation, especially if they have connections. Yamano was a reporter, so perhaps thanks to the scandal her reputation went down. Could it be that she considered...?

I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine. I shouldn't think about this anymore. Just like Hanamura said, it too much for one's heart to take in.

After a moment, I shook my head and began to walk to the Dojima's residence.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

I opened the door of the Dojima residence, letting a soft sigh out. It has certainly gotten late. I removed my shoes and walked inside, only to see Nanako and Dojima watching the news with cups of noodles in font of them. Noticing my presence, Dojima looked at me and smiled a little.

"Hey, welcome home" Dojima greeted, causing Nanako to look at me. I nodded to him and Nanako as I slowly walked over to the zabuton across from Nanako. I was feeling exhausted and quite sluggish. Perhaps because of what happened inside the television?

"Uh-Hmm... Well, I doubt you'd know..." Dojima began, caching my attention. He seemed somewhat hesitant as I looked at him.

"But have you heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi?" Dojima asked, turning serious. I blinked at him in surprise, a little nervous about where this was going.

"Yes, I've met her yesterday with a few acquaintances of mine after school" I explained with a nod. Dojima looked at me with a slightly upset look.

"Oh, I see..." Dojima muttered, causing me to blink in surprise. Did something happen? Or was Dojima not liking the fact that I had acquaintances. Dojima let out a sigh as he placed his right arm onto the chabudai.

"To be honest... We got a call from her family. She's disappeared" Dojima said with a slightly worried look. I flinched in surprise at the information.

"We've got people looking for her, but she hasn't been found yet" Dojima explained before I could say anything. I looked down at the chabudai with slightly worried eyes. I hope she comes home soon safe and sound. It's dangerous right now, and if she isn't found soon... She could have a similar fate as Yamano. I mentally shrugged off the thought as Dojima sighed in exhaustion.

"Work just keeps piling up..." Dojima muttered softly, in hope that Nanako nor I could hear him. Thankfully, Nanako was too busy watching the television to have heard him.

 **"** ** _And now, more on the case still casting a shadow over the foggy town of Inaba_** **"** The news reporter began, catching Dojima and my attention.

 **"** ** _Not long ago, television announcer Mayumi Yamano was found dead in the small town. Up until now, her whereabouts prior to her death has been unknown. But the police investigation has been found that she had been staying at the region's famous Amagi Inn_** **"** I blinked in surprise. 'Amagi Inn'? Amagi as in, Yukiko Amagi? Does her parents run that inn? It would certainly explain why she has been leaving so early after school. So, Ms. Yamano's whereabouts were unknown before she died...

 **"** ** _She had apparently been staying there alone. Perhaps she was taking a vacation to recover from her ordeal?_** **"** The news reporter guessed. I nodded in understanding for the reporters assumption. If the scandal was bad upon Ms. Yamano and the other person, it would be logical to assume that Yamano would take a break from showing herself on television until the situation had died down.

"Is the ramen ready now?" Nanako asked Dojima, sounding a little impatient. Dojima chuckled at Nanako's impatience.

"Give it some more time" Dojima said with a smile. Nanako sighed a little, wanting to eat the cup of noodles in front of her. Suddenly, I looked over to the right and sneezed into my sleeve. Dojima and Nanako looked at me in surprise as I sniffled.

"Whoa, gesundheit" Dojima said as he stared at me with slightly worried eyes.

"You're probably still adjusting to the new environment" Dojima concluded. He looked over at Nanako and pointed over at the cabinet near the stairway.

"Nanako, could you get her some cold medicine?" Dojima asked. Nanako nodded and quickly rushed over to the cabinet. I looked over to Dojima with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry for causing trouble" I said softly, causing Dojima to look at me in surprise. Nanako walked over to me with a small box and a glasses of water. She knelt down besides me and opened the box, handing me the cup of water.

"People who are sick should stay in bed" Nanako said with a serious to be, taking out a small bottle. I blinked at her in surprise as Dojima laughed.

"That's right, listen to Nanako now" Dojima chuckled. I nodded obediently and took the pill that Nanako offered me, drinking the water shortly after. I did just what Nanako and Dojima said and went straight to bed.

* * *

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair. This is...

"Hello, and welcome to the Velvet Room" the man with the long nose, known as Igor, greeted. Hitomi glanced around the room in confusion, wondering how she ended up here. After all she was sleeping soundly in her futon. Noticing Hitomi's confusion, Igor raised a hand to draw her attention.

"Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the _real_ world" Igor explained. Hitomi blinked in slight confusion, not fully understanding the situation, but nodded anyway.

"Only those who have formed bonds, and are bond by a contract, are allowed to enter this room" the woman next to Igor, known as Margaret began, drawing Hitomi's attention to her.

"Congratulations, you have awakened your powers" Margaret said with a blank expression, much similar to Hitomi. Igor looked up at Hitomi and grew his strange smile wider.

"I would like you to take this with you" Igor said with a flick of his wrist. Suddenly, a key glowing blue slowly descended onto the table in front of Igor and Hitomi. The key had a round handle, a mask of sort printed on the handle.

"That's the 'Contractor's Key'" Igor began to explain. "From this night on, you will be our guest, here in the Velvet Room." Hitomi nodded in understanding and took the key, the key dissolving into her hand. A warm feeling flowed into Hitomi's body, making her sigh in comfort.

"Your persona, is the Wild Card" Margaret began. "It's ability is like that of no other. Just like the number zero, it is filled with infinite potential." Igor looked up at Hitomi with an intrigued look.

"I'm quite curious what you will do with these new powers you've awakened. The power of the Wild Card" Igor began, chuckling slightly in curiosity. "We will travel the road of your destiny together." Soon, Hitomi's consciousness began to fade as the room slowly began to be engulfed by darkness.

* * *

 ** _Friday, April 15_** ** _th_**

Hitomi's POV

There's a heavy blanket of fog covering the road as I walk to school. It's not like the yellow fog from the world inside the TV, but it's an unwanted reminder of yesterday's events. Even after getting a good night's rest, the thought of what happened makes my head hurt. A police siren makes me stop. What happened? A robbery? An accident?

A murder?

An image of someone hanging off an antenna flits into my mind, causing me to shudder. Hopefully it isn't. Soon, I approach the gates of Yasogami and find Satonaka standing in front of Amagi. I blink in surprise as I noticed a strange looking boy with an unfamiliar uniform standing in front of Satonaka. The boy suddenly took a step back and push Satonaka as he ran down the hill. I moved a little out of his way, hearing him mutter the words "Stupid bitch!". I blinked in surprise after him as the other students did who were walking up the hill as well. I walked over to Amagi and Satonaka, not wanting to block anyone's way.

"Yo!" I heard someone greet. I looked over to my left and saw Hanamura standing next to me. He smiled at me before looking at Satonaka and Amagi. I looked at Satonaka and Amagi, raising my transparent umbrella up slightly.

"Good morning" I greeted them. Satonaka smiled at Hanamura and I and nodded.

"'Morning you two!" Satonaka greeted cheerfully. Amagi stared off into space, a slightly frightened look on her face. Noticing her frightened expression, I tilted my head slightly at her.

"Amagi-san, is everything alright?" I asked. Amagi snapped back into reality as she looked at me. Unable to find words or was simply too shy, Amagi looked back forward again, causing me to fallow her gaze.

"Did that strange boy just now do something to you?" I asked, returning my gaze back to Amagi. Amagi shrugged a little, blinking nervously.

"I... I don't really know. What did he want from me?" Amagi replied, confused by the sudden events. Satonaka looked at her with a surprising yet angry look, raising an eyebrow.

"Really, you don't know? He wanted to give you the D" Satonaka said bluntly, causing Amagi to flinch a little in surprise. Amagi and I blinked at Satonaka with confusion as I tilted my head slightly.

"The 'D'?" I asked, unfamiliar with the term. Satonaka looked at me and nodded.

"Yeah, the di-" he began, when Hanamura suddenly covered his mouth wit a nervous expression.

"W-What Nise here is _trying_ to say, is that the lovelorn fool just now wanted to ask Yukiko on a date!" Hanamura explained. Satonaka blinked at Hanamura for a moment before nodding in agreement. Amagi and I blinked in surprise at the information as Amagi gasped slightly in shock.

"What? Are you sure?" Amagi asked, becoming slightly embarrassed. Satonaka and Hanamura sweat dropped at Amagi's confusion before sighing in defeat. I was still confused as was Amagi, but I decided to leave the situation alone.

"Well, how about we all head to class now" Satonaka suggested, removing Hanamura's hand from his mouth. Amagi and I nodded and began to head inside.

Once Satonaka, Hanamura, Amagi, and I had all headed inside; we gathered around Satonaka and Amagi's desks, continuing the conversation rom earlier. Satonaka was sitting in his seat while Amagi had her chair turned around to face Satonaka. Hanamura and I stood to their left, my arms crossed underneath my chest.

"Man, you can be totally harsh some times" Hanamura chuckled wearily, his left hand on his hip. "Last year you cut me down like that as well." I blinked at him in surprise, finding the information just given somewhat interesting.

"No I didn't..." Amagi squeaked softly, a sound of guilt in her voice. Hanamura perked up as he rested his right hand on Satonaka's desk, leaning in slightly towards Amagi.

"So that means you _do_ want to go out with me?" Hanamura asked. Satonaka gave Hanamura a bored look that seemed slightly scary.

"I'd prefer not too" Amagi replied bluntly, causing Hanamura to lower his head and smile in defeat. Satonaka smirked at Hanamura's rejection as I watched the whole scene silently, a little confused at what was going on.

"'Cause I suck!" Hanamura muttered jokingly. He quickly shook off the reaction and stood up straight, a bright smile on his face.

"No worries, that's cool! I got my sights set on someone else anyway" Hanamura chirped, as if proud by his statement. Satonaka grinned that had a mischievous vibe from it, raising and lowering his eyebrows repeatedly.

"Could it be Saki-senpai~?" Satonaka said in a sly tone. Hanamura's cheeks became slightly red as he nodded.

"Yep, that's right!" Hanamura chirped. He then pulled out a familiar movie ticket, his smile widening.

"And today's the day of our date!" Hanamura chirped, dancing a little. I stared at Hanamura's happiness, not understanding what was happening. Hanamura was rather humorous in his own foolish way.

"Well then, have fun" I said to him, thinking it was necessary to say that. Hanamura gave me a thumps up as he beamed in joy. His beam suddenly dimmed as his facial expression turned worried. He pulled out his iPhone with an orange and black case protecting the phone, quickly unlocking it.

"But I don't know man... Ever since yesterday, she's been blowing off every text I send her" Hanamura said with a slightly upset tone. I gasped softly as I recalled the discussion with Dojima last night.

 _"Uh-Hmm... Well, I doubt you'd know... But have you heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi?"_

 _"To be honest... We got a call from her family. She's disappeared. We've got people looking for her, but she hasn't been found yet."_

I opened my mouth to tell Hanamura the upsetting news, when suddenly a student rushes into the room. It was a female student with short brown hair, shining blue eyes and a white headband with a big ribbon on top of it. Most of the students turned their attention to her, while other groaned.

"Hey, listen to this!" the girl began, jumping over to the small bookshelves in the back of the room. "It turns out that there was another incident!" Everyone in the room gasped in shock and began to chat to their friends, most were sounding scared while other were excited. Hanamura blinked with a slightly nervous face, sweat slowly falling down his jaw.

"Seriously, again?" Hanamura asked, not getting a response from the girl as she talked with her friends. My body tensed up as my eyes narrowed slightly. So that's why there were all those sirens this morning. Another incident...

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

Once classes end, all students are called to an assembly held in Yasogami's auditorium. Everyone around me is chattering, wondering for what reason we've been called here.

"Hey, where's Yukiko?" I heard Hanamura ask. I looked at Satonaka who stood next to me as he read something on his phone.

"She just sent a text" Satonaka began, catching Hanamura, who stood behind me, attention. "She got a call from her family. She said that she had to go home and help out at the inn." I blinked in surprise at the new information and also Satonaka's expression. For some reason, Satonaka had a mixture of worry and anger in his face as he turned off his iPhone.

"Help with the inn? As in the Amagi Inn that was shown last night on the news?" I asked, wondering if my assumption last night was true. Satonaka looked at me in realization, remembering that he had never actually told this information to me yet.

"Yep, the very one. It's by far the nicest historical Inn we've got in town. She's going to own it and run it someday!" Satonaka explained, a proud tone in his voice. I blinked at him in surprise, taking in the information. I couldn't help but wonder if Amagi had said so herself that she wanted to take over the Inn or if it was just an assumption Satonaka had. I heard a soft worried sigh behind me, causing me to snap out of my thoughts and looked over my shoulder at Hanamura.

"Text back already... Come on...!" he groaned, pulling out his iPhone. I took a small step over to the side so I could get a better view of Hanamura as I tilted my head slightly.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, a little worried by Hanamura's behavior. Hanamura used his thumb to push the buttons on is screen as he pressed his lips together, forming a thin line.

"Saki-senpai still hasn't responded... She would have texted me something if there was a problem" he explained, letting out a short sigh. My eyes narrowed in pity as I opened my mouth, about to explain to him about Konishi's disappearance.

"Hey, listen up!" I heard Morooka's voice shout, causing me to flinch and look forward. Once everyone is silent, Morooka glares at the sea of students, swinging his left arm in front of the large podium in the middle of the stage.

"The principal has something to tell ya, so shut it and try to pay attention" Morooka growled. "Make so much as a peep and your going down on my 'Rotten Little Shit' list! Consider yourselves warned." Morooka steps away from the podium so the principal, an old man wearing traditional Japanese garb, can take his place. The principal clears his throat, hesitantly looking out at the students.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I'm afraid I have some very bad news today..." the principal began, his voice cloaked in sadness.

"Early this morning, one of our own was found dead. Saki Konishi, from 3-B" the principal continued. The room erupted in small gasps of shock, students murmuring to each other. There's a strangled gasp at my side. Hanamura, the source of it, is pale and is staring at the principal with wide eyes.

Satonaka and I turn our attention towards Hanamura, worried about how he will take the news of the recent lost senpai. The rest of the principal's speech turns into background noise. My attention is on Hanamura as his eyes becoming lifeless, staring on ahead. His grip on his phone loosened, causing it to fall. Just before it hit the ground, I caught it and held the phone in my hands. I looked at the screen with wide eyes, feeling Hanamura's sadness wash other me. There, on the screen, was his inbox folder; waiting for a message that it will never receive.

After the assembly was over, Hanamura was the first one to escape the gym. All of the students slowly walked out with heavy looks on their faces, grieving over the loss of Konishi. Satonaka and I shuffled slowly behind the rest of the students, only to stop in our tracks at the sight of Hanamura; holding one of the pillars that held the roof of the long and narrow outdoor hallway, leading to the main building. He was holding on to his iPhone tightly, close to his heart while staring at the wet ground. I heard a couple of students whispering to one another in regards to Konishi's death.

"They say that her body was found _impaled_ somewhere" a girl whispered to her friend.

"Just like Ms. Yamano?" her friend asked.

"Yeah, but this time they say it was from a _telephone pole_."

The two girls continued to whisper amongst themselves, but they were too far away from me to eavesdrop. I shifted back my attention over to Hanamura, my eyes narrowing in pity. Hanamura had liked Konishi, his affection towards her was quite clear. Perhaps that's why I feel so guilty right now. There was nothing I could have done for Konishi. It was too late by the time of her disappearance had reached me. If only I had known sooner, I could have helped Dojima and the others look for her. I could have even told Hanamura and have him help as well. The whole town could have helped look for her.

After all of the other students had left, the door leading inside closed, a heavy and slightly uncomfortable silence filled the air; mixing with the sound of the light rain falling from the sky. Satonaka wasn't very comfortable by the silence, fidgeting slightly with pitiful eyes at Hanamura.

"Yosuke..." Satonaka began, trying to find words to comfort Hanamura. But he failed as he looked down at his feet, unable to think of anything.

"So um... Did you watch the midnight channel... Last night?" Hanamura asked slowly, looking out into the distance. Satonaka tensed up at Hanamura's words, taking a slight step forward with nervous eyes.

"Why are you talking about that now?!" Satonaka asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Let me finish, will ya?!" Hanamura shouted, causing Satonaka and I to flinch. Hanamura's short bangs covered his eyes as his head lowered slightly, his teeth gritting. Satonaka pressed his lips together, taking a step back towards me.

After a moment, Hanamura continued, "After what we saw before, I had to watch it again. And I'm pretty sure that I... saw Saki-senpai on that screen." Satonaka flinched in surprise, his eyes widening. He was in shock by the news.

"Don't you remember?" Hanamura began again after a pause of silence. "Someone claimed that Ms. Yamano was his soul mate... because he said that he saw her on the midnight channel too."

"Oh yeah, that's right..." Satonaka said, remembering something similar to Hanamura's words.

"They're saying that Saki-senpai died pretty much the same way Ms. Yamano did..." Hanamura's hands tightened slightly, struggling to say the word 'Saki-senpai' and 'died' in the same sentence. "I don't know for sure, but... I'm betting it's not a coincidence."

"Wha-? You don't think that...!" Satonaka stammered, baffled by Hanamura's unsaid assumption.

"Your saying that whoever shows up on that TV channel... Ends up dead?" I asked, wanting to clarify what I was hearing. Satonaka flinches at my words and turns to me with wide eyes and a dangling mouth. I lowered my head slightly as I closed my eyes, considering Hanamura's assumption.

"We all saw Misuzu Hiiragi's posters when we were _inside_ the T.V" Hanamura began. I nodded, taking in what he was saying.

"You think that the world inside the T.V is related to both these murders...?" I asked, not finding the idea completely ridiculous.

"Look, we made our way into that world once, what if Saki-senpai and Ms. Yamano did as well?!" Hanamura said with a strong tone. I nodded once again, slowly opening my eyes. What Hanamura was saying could certainly be the case. Last night with Dojima... Ms. Yamano's whereabouts before her death... Konishi's disappearance... That other world... Slowly, I was making connections.

"Yosuke... Dude, you wouldn't..." Satonaka said as he take a step forward towards Hanamura. Hanamura's eyes had a certain gleam to them that told Satonaka not to come near him. He shoved his phone into his pocket as he looked at me.

"Yeah... I'm thinking about going back in again. I want to find out for myself" Hanamura said with a determined tone, causing Satonaka to tense up.

"D-Don't do this man! You should let the police handle this and-" Satonaka began.

"You think we can rely on the police!? They haven't made any progress on Ms. Yamano's case!" Hanamura shouted angrily, interrupting Satonaka. I winced slightly, feeling a little bad for Dojima. The man barely comes to his home at night for a healthy meal or decent sleep, and people bad mouth about the progress of the recent incidents. Satonaka opened his mouth to argue with Hanamura, but was quickly shut by Hanamura walking towards us.

"Even if we told them about the world inside the T.V, there's no way they're goanna believe us!" Hanamura explained, stopping right in front of the frozen Satonaka. Hanamura looked down at his feet, a grimacing look on his face.

"If I'm completely off-base with this, that's fine..." he began, sounding depressed. "It's just... I need to know _why_ Saki-senpai had to die like this..." Satonaka's eyes narrowed in sympathy as a silence filled the air. I stared at Hanamura with my usual blank expression, understanding why he wanted to go back inside the television. With everything he had seen and put together, there's no way he would just ignore it like the others. Other people haven't seen what we have. Other people haven't made assumptions like he has.

After a moment of nothing but the sound of rain, Hanamura looked at me with a slightly pleading and yet guilty look. Hanamura turned around and began to walk down the hallway. Satonaka took a step forward, extending his arm after Hanamura's back

"Where are you going?" Satonaka asked, his voice cracking slightly. Hanamura stopped in his tracks, not facing us.

"...I'm goanna go get ready. I'll be waiting for you guys at Junes" Hanamura instructed before dashing off. Satonaka stared after the door Hanamura escaped from, slowly trying to take in everything Hanamura said. Satonaka let out a long sigh, causing me to look at him.

"Man, that idiot..." Satonaka muttered as he scratched the back of his head. He looked at me with slightly worried and tired eyes. "Come on, let's go after him in case he does something stupid..." I nodded in agreement and the two of us began to walk.

* * *

Before Satonaka and I headed over to Junes, we stopped by our classrooms first and took our bags that had been asked to remain in the classroom before leaving for the assembly. We also brought Hanamura's along, noticing that he hadn't taken it with him.

Once we arrived at Junes, we asked one of the employees where Hanamura was, to which they pointed us in the direction of the electronics department. Upon our arrive at the department, we instantly found him standing in front of the television from yesterday. When we reached his location, we noticed that he was holding in one hand is a golf club and in the other is a coil of rope. Noticing us, Hanamura turned around a smile a little.

"You guys came!" Hanamura said with a slightly surprised and yet happy tone, matching his expression. Satonaka crossed his arms over his chest with an annoyed look.

"To _stop_ you, idiot!" Satonaka explained, an eyebrow twitching. Hanamura's cheerful expression suddenly became serious as he turned around.

"Its not going to work, man. I'm going in, and you can't stop me" Hanamura growled with a serious tone. Satonaka's annoyance quickly turned into worry and slight fear as he uncrossed his arms.

"This is crazy! You're not serious about this, right?!" Satonaka asked, slightly freaking out. I couldn't help but feel bad fro Satonaka. Yesterday's experience must have been really terrifying for him. He wasn't thinking straight, not listening to Hanamura's clear determination.

"We've already escaped once before" Hanamura explained as he stared at the blank television. "And if we use the same entrance again, then maybe we can meet up with that freaky bear again too." Satonaka flailed his arms around, sweat rolling down his face.

"'Maybe' isn't good enough! There's no way you can know this for sure!" Satonaka argued. Satonaka and Hanamura began to argue, their voices slowly vanishing from my head as I began to think. I looked down at my bag, that I held in my right hand, as I pulled out the glasses from yesterday. There was something about that world that had bothered me. I was never really able to put my finger on it, causing me to never actually dispose of the glasses. I recall Igor's words that he has said to me before...

 _"It seems you will encounter a great misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."_

I gripped onto the glasses slightly, nodding to myself. Someone once said, 'There is no coincidence in this world'[1]. This had to be the mystery and catastrophe that Igor had predicted. It had already taken two people's life's. After what I've experience way back then, there is no way I was going to let someone in the town I reside in have anymore lost victims.

I looked over at Hanamura. His eyes look determined. Something was telling me that he might do something stupid if I don't help him. If I tag along, I just might be able to able to protect him if something goes wrong. I looked up at Hanamura, my head down slightly as my eyes locked on him.

"Hold on, Hanamura. I'll go with you" I declared, walking over to him, ignoring Satonaka's exclaim. Hanamura blinked at me in surprise before giving me a slightly guilty look.

"I don't want to endanger you, Narukami-chan... But thanks" Hanamura said with a gentle tone. I could feel his gratitude and determination inside his voice. There was no way that I was going to back down now.

"Narukami-chan, don't!" Satonaka protests. "It's too dangerous for a girl to go in there!" Hanamura looked at Satonaka with a look that said, 'you worry to much'. He holds up the coiled rope, a small smile forming on his face.

"Don't worry, Nise. I got a back-up plan" Hanamura announced, his smile widening in victory thinking that the rope would convince Satonaka.

"What the-?! Is this a life line!? What if that doesn't work!?" Satonaka exclaims. Satonaka twirls me around, allowing me to face him. I couldn't help but notice that his body was trembling. I blinked at him in surprise, becoming slightly worried.

"Narukami-chan, you can't do this! If you and Hanamura find something in there…" Satonaka began, his grip on my shoulders tightening slightly. I heard Hanamura sigh a little, a hint of annoyance in his sigh.

"Then why don't _you_ join us, Nise?" Hanamura suggested. Satonaka froze at the idea, his face paling. I stared at Satonaka for a moment, before slowly removing his hands from my shoulders. I lifted my bag and gave it to Satonaka, causing him to blink in surprise.

"You don't have to come, Satonaka-san. What happened last time has clearly gotten you traumatized. I'll go on ahead and take Hanamura" I began calmly, causing Satonaka to open his mouth; ready to argue. I raised my left hand in front of me, causing him to flinch.

"If it makes you feel better, I promise that if there's something we can't handle- something that could end our lives- we're coming straight back here." Satonaka stared at me with wide eyes, as I turned to Hanamura who was also staring at me.

"No questions or complaints. Understood?" I said with a slightly strong stare. Hanamura stared at me for a moment, slightly shocked by my words. Hanamura smiles with gratitude and nods.

"Got it" Hanamura replied. He hands one end of the rope to me and the other to Satonaka. "Narukami-chan, tie this end around your waist. Nise, you hold the other end." Satonaka gulps as he grips his end of the rope, not saying a word. He looked a little pleased and slightly determined after Hanamura handed him the rope.

I turned towards the television, putting on my glasses before I began to walk towards it. Hanamura puts one hand on my shoulder as I start to climb through the TV. Before we disappear through the screen I hear Satonaka call out "Be careful!"

Just like yesterday, I squeezed my legs and eyes together as I held my skirt down while I fell. Hanamura must have been expecting this to repeat itself again because he didn't scream in terror like last time.

The two of us landed on hard ground, groaning. I landed right on my butt as Hanamura landed next to me on his hands and knees.

"Thank god for gravity, always there to remind us that we're not dreaming!" Hanamura groaned sarcastically. I sat up on my butt, rubbing my back when I noticed something. The rope that was once tied around Hanamura and my waist was gone!

"Hanamura, the rope...!" I said softly, a little too shocked to speak normally. Hanamura blinked at me in confusion before looking down at his waist. He gasped in surprise, touching his stomach where the rope used to be. After a moment, Hanamura groaned with a small sob in the middle lowering his head.

"Great... There goes our back-up plan" Hanamura mumbled. Suddenly, I heard a familiar squeaking noise approach us quickly. I looked over to the left and saw the strange female bear from yesterday run towards us.

"Hey, it's you again!" the bear called out, catching Hanamura's attention. "Why'd you come back here?!" With the help of Hanamura, we rose to our feet and looked around; ignoring the bear's questions.

"It _is_ the same place from last time!" Hanamura said in astonishment, finally scanning our surroundings.

"You two seem _beary_ suspicious..." the bear muttered, keeping a suspicious gaze on Hanamura and I. Hanamura raised an eyebrow in confusion, paying attention to the bear now. The bear bowed a few times slowly as it thought to itself, unable to nod it's head.

"As of late, someone from the other side has been stuffing people down here before the fog clears up!" the bear began. I blinked in confusion, tilting my head slightly.

"The fog clears up?" I ask. I exchanged glances with Hanamura, who was just as confused as me before looking back at the bear. "What's significant about that?"

"When it's foggy over on your side, then that's when the fog lifts over here!" the bear explained, moving her arms as she explained. I hummed to myself in thought as I stared at the bear. Now that I think about it... There was something that both of the murders had in common.

"You know what..." I began, catching Hanamura and the bear's attention. "When both of those murders took place, it _was_ pretty foggy over on our side..." Hanamura blinked in surprise as he thought about something.

"Yeah, you know you're right!" Hanamura agreed, nodding with a convinced look. The bear 'hmphed', catching our attention again.

"The two of you have figured out a way to come here on your own, haven't you?!" the bear asked, pointing a paw at us. "Which means if you wanted, you could throw people in here too! So clearly, you guys are the culprits!" I stared at the bear, slightly surprised by her accusation. Hanamura gasped in annoyance as he slashed the air with his left hand to the side.

"What?! That's stupid, you little...!" Hanamura growled, looking ready to attack her. I placed a finger on my chin as I thought for a moment. I looked down at the ground, my hand falling to my chest.

"Hold on a sec..." I began, causing Hanamura to look at me in confusion. "If people are being forcibly sent here... Then there's a chance that Saki-senpai and Ms. Yamano had been here too. If people were thrown in here and there was no way out, they could die. After all, it's not like they could fallen in here on accident..." The bear pointed at me with her paw again, eyes gleaming.

"Well if they were, it's because _you're_ the ones sending them here! Come clean already!" the bear shouted, having enough of Hanamura and I. I looked up at the bear as Hanamura growled through his gritted teeth.

"Look bear, if anyone drags Saki-senpai here against her will; it was probably you!" Hanamura snapped. The bear gasped in shock at the accusation Hanamura made and began to frail her arms around, stammering for words. Hanamura took a step forward towards the bear and glared at her.

"Now take off that ridiculous suit and show us who you _really_ are!" Hanamura demanded before leaping at the bear. He and the bear tumble to the ground. The bear struggles to get back up, but is unable to lift herself up with Hanamura on top of him. I stared at the scene with wide eyes, finding it slightly uncomfortable.

"Get off! Get off of me, you pervert!" the bear screamed. Hanamura grabs the zipper around the bear's neck and unzips it before pulling the head off. Hanamura lets out a cry of surprise and horror, stumbling backward and landing on his butt. I gasped softly as I saw the head plop onto the ground. There wasn't a single thing inside the bear.

"W-What the hell?!" Hanamura stuttered, completely frightened by the empty insides of the bear.

"Huh... There's nothing inside" I said with a momentum tone, a deadpan look on my face. The bear's body sat up, hands flailing around in horror.

"Ugh, weird! How the heck does it work?!" Hanamura asked, still in shock at the bears appearance. Feeling a little bad for the thing, I grabbed her head and put it back on her body before bending over slightly to zip it back up. The bear took a deep breath, as if being able to breath once again and looked at me with slightly apologetic and grateful eyes.

"Thanks a lot nice girl!" the bear sighed, still trying to catch her breath.

"You got thicker skin than I thought, Narukami-chan…" I heard Hanamura muttered. I looked over at him and saw that he was staring at me with slightly nervous and yet surprised eyes.

"Look, I'll take your word that you cub and grizzly's aren't the ones dumping the bodies here" The bear began, catching my attention as she pushed her head down a little. She began to frail her arms about as small tears formed in her big eyes. "But in exchange, you have gotta agree to find the real culprit, okay?! You have to catch them and make them stop this! Please!"

"Calm down now..." I said with a soft tone, rubbing the bear's head. The bear suddenly hugged my waist, causing me to blush slightly.

"I just want to live in bear-tiful peace and quite!" the bear sobbed, rubber her big eyes on my stomach.

"Some crazy bear..." Hanamura muttered as he walked over to me, placing his left hand onto his hip.

"I have no one else to turn to! You've got to help me! Please promise me you'll find them?" the bear asked, letting go of my waist to look at both Hanamura and I. Hanamura raised an eyebrow as he leaned towards the bear slightly.

"Now why in the heck would we go and promise you something li—"

"We'll do it" I cut in, causing Hanamura to look at me and exclaim in shock while the bear looked at me with big happy eyes.

"You'll what?!" Hanamura said, baffled by my words. "No way, your _helping_ her?!" I nodded in reply as I placed a hand on the bears head.

"Why not? I feel sorry for the little guy" I said to Hanamura, causing him to blink at me in surprise, loss for words. The bear threw her paws up in the air and jumped up and down.

"This is great, thank you so much!" the bear cheered, continuing to bounce.

"You're an insanely nice chick, aren't ya..." Hanamura muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. He thought about something for a moment before looking over at the bear in slight defeat.

"Okay, I'm in" Hanamura sighed. I clapped my hands together, applauding Hanamura's kindness as the bear looked at Hanamura in surprise.

"You're an insanely nice guy, Hanamura" I said, throwing his words right back at him. He stifled a laugh from my words, looking away. After regaining his composure, Hanamura looked back at the bear and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Yosuke Hanamura, and this is Hitomi Narukami. You got a name?" Hanamura introduced. The bear smiled brightly as she swung her arms back and forth, teetering.

"Berry!" the bear chirped, sounding proud of her name. Hanamura stared at Berry with a bored look before sighing and pointed at her.

"Before we do anything, I want to make this clear! We'll only help you in one condition! You have to help _us_ out, you freaky bear! Once we're done investigating, you have to let us out of here" Hanamura said, a serious tone in his voice. Berry nodded enthusiastically and

"Alright, no problem!" Berry said with enthusiasm, clearly grateful for our assistance before pointing over to the right. "Let's go! I can lead you guys to the place the last person came in, so you can find clues!" Hanamura and I nodded and fallowed the skipping bear. I narrowed my eyes slightly, a little nervous as we walked.

"I hope that we don't bump into any of those shadows like last time..." I muttered, gripping my hands together. If I had to be perfectly honest with myself, I was a little scared. Sure, I had Izanagi to protect Hanamura, Berry, and I; but what scared me was the 'what if' that swirled in my head.

What if Izanagi and I can't protect Hanamura and Berry? What if we encounter something stronger than those shadows from last time? What if I can't summon Izanagi at all? I shivered a little bit as I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I suddenly felt a hand rest on my shoulder, causing me to look up in surprise. I looked over to my left and saw Hanamura smiling at me.

"Hey, don't worry 'bout anything, 'kay? If push comes to shove, I'll protect you" Hanamura said with a wink, causing myself to blush. I nodded a thank you to him, causing his smile to widen as before keeping his attention on Berry.

* * *

I was walking along side Berry in silence, as Hanamura slowed down slightly behind us. I looked around the area with a slightly surprised look on my face, the area looked really familiar. As well it should, because it was almost like the exact replica of the central district in Inaba. Except here there isn't a single person out on the streets and the sky is red with moving black stripes.

"Ugh, Narukami-chan how can you see though all this fog? I can barely see what's ahead" I heard Hanamura complain. Berry and I stopped in our tracks as we turned around to face him. Hanamura was squinting, trying to take in the area. Berry gasped slightly and began to rummage through her pockets. Berry pulled out a pair of orange, square framed glasses with the rainbow colors on the side like mine and walked over to Hanamura.

"Here, this might help!" Berry said as she gave Hanamura the glasses. Hanamura blinks in confusion at the glasses, but turns around and puts them on. Berry walked back over to me and began to walk ahead while I fallowed her.

"Oh man, I can see so much better now! Hey wait a sec... This looks sorta like the shopping district" I heard Hanamura say, footsteps intertwining with his voice.

"The last time I saw that girl was right around..." Berry began as she looked around for something. Hanamura caught up to Berry and I, pulling out his iPhone.

"Yo!" Hanamura began, causing Berry to scream in surprise. Hanamura blinked at Berry with a slightly bored and annoyed look as he slide through his pictures, "Hey, spazzy bear! Can it for a sec." Once Hanamura found the picture he was looking for, he showed it to Berry. It was a picture of Konishi, smiling calmly as she served drinks to people.

"Is this the girl you saw?" Hanamura asked, a slight hint of sadness in his voice. Berry stared at the picture for a split second before nodding and looking on ahead.

"Yep, the beary one" Berry confirmed, causing Hanamura to gasp slightly. Berry looked over to the right where I stood and pointed somewhere ahead.

"I lost her when she entered that store up there" Berry said calmly as Hanamura and I fallowed his paw. Hanamura's body tensed up as he placed his iPhone back inside his pocket.

"That's Saki-senpai's parents store!" Hanamura said in slight determination and surprise. It was a small store with the main store covered by a silver garage like door. Above the door was a sign that read "Konishi's Liquors". It seemed like it had seen better days, slight signs of rot on the roof. Suddenly, I began to hear female voices murmuring.

"Hey... Do you hear that?" I asked, looking up into the sky; trying to find the source of the voices. Hanamura looked at me in confusion and began to look around, listening intently for anything that sounded unusual.

"I wish Junes would go under."

"I hear that Konishi girl, Saki? They say that _she's_ working there!"

"I can't believe she'd do that. Junes is destroying her families business and everyone else's"

"It's all because of that store!"

"That girl is trouble."

"That poor man, to have his daughter working for the enemy."

"Hey... Whose saying this crap!?" Hanamura shouted, his body trembling with anger. He then bolted towards the liquor store, leaving Berry and I behind with a surprised look on our faces.

"Shut up!" Hanamura shouted as he entered the store. I began to run after him, Berry running beside me.

"Hanamura!" I called out, trying to get his attention.

3rd POV

The frustrated and angry fawn colored haired boy barged into the Konishi's Liquor store, ignoring the calls of his name from his classmate. The interior of the liquor store is dark, with stacks of alcohol reaching to the ceiling; a counter with a cashier on top not to far away from Yosuke. There are voices here as well, this time a man.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Saki?!"

Yosuke gasped at the sound of the mans voice, recognizing it as Saki's father. Yosuke's body began to relax as he listened intently at Saki's father voice.

"Our family has poured our blood, sweat, and _tears_ into 'Konishi Liquors'! How dare you take a part time job at Junes?!"

A sharp pain ached into Yosuke's heart, feeling guilt rush through him. Could Saki's father have yelled at her like this because of her job at Junes? Yosuke shook his head, getting rid of the thought. Saki would have told him what was happening at her house if their was any problem. How come he could hear Saki's father, but not physically see him.

"Hey, whose there?!" Yosuke called out, looking around for a sign of a human being. Hitomi and Berry entered the liquor store, looking around with slightly wide eyes. Suddenly, the sound of something being stepped on caught Yosuke's attention as he looked down at his feet. Yosuke gasped, seeing that what he was stepping on was scraps of the movie ticket that he had give Saki.

"That's the ticket I gave her...!" Yosuke muttered to himself. He blinked in confusion at the shredded ticket. Why would she tear it up?

"I could never tell him..."

Yosuke's eyes widened in surprise. That voice.. It was Saki!

"Saki, that you?! Saki! Saki!" Yosuke called out, looking around for his familiar co-worker. Hitomi stared at Yosuke with slight pity and worry in her eyes. He wasn't thinking straight and was getting to caught up with the voices. Yosuke had forgotten that Saki was already dead.

"Answer me! Where are you?!" Yosuke shouted. No response. Not a single hint of a human existence either.

"That I think Hana-chan..."

Yosuke flinched, his heart suddenly beating. What about him? Was Saki hiding something from him? What couldn't she have said?

"I think that he's a _pain_ in the _ass_!"

Yosuke's mind went blank, a staggered breath escaping his lips. All the blood from his face drained as he stood there, stunned. Saki thought that he was... A pain in the ass? The words echoed into Yosuke's head, his eyes widening with small tears. His heart throbbed painfully, as if it was beating against a rose thorn.

"I was only nice to him because he was the store managers son! But he took it the wrong way, and now that _idiot_ totally thinks I like him."

Hitomi flinched at the sound of disgust in Saki's voice, finding her words brutal. Hitomi had thought that there was a slight hint of annoyance from Saki towards Yosuke, but Hitomi was never able to actually think that it was how she felt about him.

"Is that really true...?" Yosuke muttered, sounding heartbroken.

"I don't care about Junes! Same goes for my dad's store, the shopping district, and my parents! I wish that everyone would just **die**!"

Yosuke suddenly gripped his head, shaking away Saki's voice. Hitomi took a step forward, an arm halfway extended to comfort her classmate when Yosuke fell to his knees.

"It's a lie! Shut up! Stop lying! Saki would never say that!" Yosuke growled, shaking his head furiously. Yosuke kept thinking in his head that everything was a dream, nothing more than an illusion. Saki would never think that! She isn't that kind of girl! It's nothing but a lie!

Suddenly, someone begins to laugh, catching the trio's attention. The laughter had a familiar sound in it, despite the fact that it was distorted.

" **It's so sad... No one understands you!** " the voice began as the sound of footsteps approached them. Slowly, an outline could be made as a figure walked forward from the shadows between the shelves.

" **But the truth is...** ** _You're_** **the one who finds everyone and** ** _everything_** **to be a pain in the ass!** " the voice snickered, a small hint of disgust. Soon, the figure had exposed itself, causing the trio to gasp in surprise and confusion. It was Yosuke.

" **Because... You're me.** "


	4. Shadows and Friendships

I stared at the scene in front to me, completely baffled by what was happening. There were two Hanamura's present. It's like seeing a reflection in a twisted mirror; the other Hanamura is a near-perfect copy of the real one, except for its glowing yellow eyes. The other Hanamura sinkers in a mocking tone, staring at the real Hanamura who was still on his knees before him. Hanamura was at a lost for words, staring at the fake Hanamura in surprise.

"There's two of him...?" I muttered to myself as Berry squeaked, teetering nervously. The real Hanamura slowly got up on his feet, wobbling a little in shock.

"Hey... Who're you?!" Hanamura asked, his voice coming back to normal. The fake Hanamura sneers as he places a hand on his hips.

" **I'm you of course** " the fake Hanamura replied. The real Hanamura flinched in surprise, looking even more surprised.

"Y-You're... You're me?" Hanamura asked. The fake Hanamura nodded, a wide smirk on his lips.

" **That's right!** **And that means I know everything about you** " the fake Hanamura chuckled in an evil way. The real Hanamura tense up at this as the fake continued, " **You made everyone believe that you came here looking for Saki... What a fat loud of crap!** " The fake Hanamura bobbed its head towards the real Hanamura in a mocking way, as if judging him.

" **Truth is, you only came because you were looking for some fun, weren't ya? What else is there for you to do in this back wood** , **shithole town?** " the fake Hanamura sneered, sounding happy for some reason. The real Hanamura flinched at the fake's words, gulping softly.

"No way..." Hanamura began as he averts his eyes, his voice wavering as he speaks. "That isn't true at all..." The fake Hanamura scoffs in delight and slight annoyance as he crosses his arms over his chest.

" **You were thinking there was a chance you might get lucky and become a hero!** " the fake snickers, its smile widening. It held out its hands, as if it had made the mastermind plan, " **'Hey, don't worry 'bout anything, 'kay? If push comes to shove, I'll protect you!' Hah! That was just some extra fuel, along with the death of your 'beloved' Saki!** " The fake Hanamura began to laugh, as if he had heard the worlds greatest joke.

I tense up a little as I eyed the fake Hanamura. If the fake was related at all to the real Hanamura, could that be what he's really thinking? A part of me began to believe what the fake was saying while another part of me didn't. There was a slight hint of boredom in Hanamura's voice when we had first really talked with each other, making me want to believe that what the fake was saying was true. However, I should know better than anyone that Hanamura really cared about Konishi. He was waiting patiently for Konishi's message, sending her messages in regards to her health and her whereabouts.

"Stop spoutin' this crap! Who the hell are you?!" the real Hanamura snapped, hearing enough of the fake's nonsenses.

" **I'm a shadow. Of your true inner self! I am** ** _your_** **shadow!** " the fake Hanamura said with a wide grin. I flinched in surprise at the fake's words, blinking in surprise. A shadow? But it looked nothing like the others. Is it because it's based on Hanamura's 'inner feelings' that it looks like Hanamura?

"Shut UP! You are so not my-" Hanamura began, anger in his voice. But Hanamura's shadow began to laugh insanely, a red and black aura surrounding it.

" **Nice! Keep going! Come on, say it again!** " the shadow taunted, raising it's hands into the air; taking it the red and black aura. I blinked at the shadow in confusion, wondering what it was doing. Earlier, it was trying to convince Hanamura that it was him. Now, he's trying to separate Hanamura and himself.

"You are not me... You're not me!" Hanamura shouted, slashing the air with his right hand to the side. The shadow continued to laugh, louder and louder with it's voice cracking as the red and black aura grew bigger. The shadow leaned forward, smirking evilly in victory with small pupils.

" **Yeah, you're right! I am my own self now! I ain't you at ALL!** " the shadow shouted, as it became engulfed by the red and black aura. The ground began to shake, causing Berry to grab onto me. The walls of the liquor store fell away like cardboard, revealing a huge stage with blue fog and giant static TV's hanging from steel beams. The red and black aura suddenly vanished as a figure came into view, causing me to gasp softly.

The shadow had turned into a giant frog with green camouflage skin, a huge v-shaped grin, and two glaring eyes. Riding on top it – no, growing out of it – is a black figure with huge yellow hands, star-like eyes, and a red scarf. Hanamura stood in his spot, looking lifeless.

One hand from the shadow shoots towards Hanamura, in which on instinct I leap towards him; tackling him and myself out of the way and onto the ground. Hanamura groaned slightly at the impact of the ground as I sat up, summoning my tarot card that held Izanagi in it- the Wild Card.

"Persona!" I called out as I clasped my hands to the card over my heart. The same, warm yet exhausting feeling washes over me as Izanagi appears over me. Izanagi instantly went towards the shadow and kicked it in the chest of the strange black figure. The shadow groaned a little in slight pain as it fell backwards, landing on its feet. The shadow leapt towards Izanagi, in attempt to attack but it was too slow for Izanagi and dodged the attack.

Knowing that Izanagi will be fine without any of my orders, I knelt down beside Hanamura, a hand on his back as I help him sit up on his hands and knees.

"Hanamura, are you alright?" I asked, only to have him shake my arm off slightly. Berry ran towards Hanamura and I, her eyes wide in surprise.

"You are truly amazing! I can't believe you wield such awesome power, Sensei!" Berry exclaimed, flailing her arms about. I blinked at Berry with a slightly nervous face, thinking that praise was something not necessarily needed at the moment.

"No..." Hanamura muttered, catching Berry and my attention. "That jerk... Isn't me... We're nothing alike!" Berry bended down slightly to see Hanamura's face and blinked at him with a calm face.

"But that 'jerk' you speak of comes from a part inside your heart, Yosuke! " Berry explained, causing me to blink in slight confusion. Hanamura gritted his teeth as his arms trembled.

"No it doesn't!" Hanamura growled, shaking his head. The shadow laughed, catching our attention.

" **You put on a good show, pretending to be all 'carefree' and 'happy-go-lucky'!** " the shadow snickered. " **But your terrified of being alone!** " I extended my hand over at the shadow, causing Izanagi to appear in front of us; taking a swing. But the shadow jumped over to the right, dodging Izanagi's attack.

"No! That isn't me!" Hanamura shouted at the ground. He suddenly stood up and began to run shouting, "You don't know me at all!" I jumped to my feet, ready to run after him. When suddenly, the shadow jumped in front of Hanamura. I gasp as I extended my hand towards Hanamura while the shadow prepared to smack him. Izanagi jumped in front of Hanamura and took the blow, flying backwards to the left. I felt Izanagi's pain as I gritted my teeth, pulling Hanamura away from the shadow. However, the shadow quickly prepared for another attack, smacking Berry, Yosuke, and I back to where we originally were.

I landed on my side as I rolled over a few times, stopping at the very edge of the stage, almost falling off. I shook the pain off as I slowly got to my feet, searching for Hanamura and Berry. There, a few meters in front of me was Hanamura and Berry both lying on their backs. I glared at the shadow, in which Izanagi flew over in front of Hanamura in response.

"Oh no!" Berry squeaked as she rolled on her stomach, looking at me. She patted the ground with her right paw, drawing my attention to a black shadow that was growing slowly.

"He's beginning to attract the other shadows! They're coming!" Berry squeaked, looking around frantically. "Sensei, you have to do something! If you don't make him stop soon, things are going to get grizzly real quick!" I nod at Berry's information and run towards them. I dropped to my knees, sliding over to Hanamura's back and began to help him sit up as I close my eyes and concentrated on Izanagi.

My mind became clear as I began to see things through Izanagi's eyes. In front of me was Hanamura's shadow, looking only slightly injured. Something was making him grow faster, and stronger. The television screens were starting to turn black, like the floor. I had to end this, soon. For Hanamura and Berry's sake! The shadow growls at me through Izanagi as it leaped towards me.

" **You annoying little bitch!** " the shadow growled. I had Izanagi dodge the attack, swinging my weapon back for a counter strike. Suddenly, the shadow slams it's frog like body towards the ground and a sudden green wind hits me. Sharp pain races through me, causing my concentration to break as Izanagi disappeared. I squeezed my hands in pain as I bit my bottom lip, not wanting to cry in pain.

"Sensei, are you okay?!" I heard Berry ask. I panted as I opened my eyes, noticing that Hanamura and Berry were staring at me. I also noticed that I was squeezing Hanamura's shoulders, instantly letting go. I felt myself become lightheaded, slamming my left hand onto the floor to keep me balanced. I tried to search for Izanagi, but it seems like he was badly injured and need a small break. Things were going in a bad direction real quick.

"Hey... You okay, Narukami-chan?" Hanamura asked, eyes filled with concern. Unable to speak, I nodded in reply. The shadow jumped onto one of the television screens, catching our attention.

" **Still trying to play the nice guy?** " the shadow sneered in disgust, causing Hanamura to flinch. " **When are you going to learn it won't fool anyone? All you do is get on people's nerves, but as long as it boosts your ego you don't care. Take that annoying little bitch for example!** " Hanamura grips his head and glares at the shadow.

"Stop it! You don't know me! Leave Narukami-chan out of this!" Hanamura shouted, his face paling. Not good, he looked exhausted. I took a deep breath and tried to summon Izanagi once more. But he needed more time.

" **I know everything! I know just how** ** _pathetic_** **you really are!** " the shadow snickered. Suddenly, all the screens had the same video on it. It looks like two female employee's from Junes, one girl with long hair tied in a ponytail while the other had her short hair clipped to the side. They looked a little older than Hanamura and I.

 _ **"What do you say we go ask Yosuke for some help?"**_ the girl with the ponytail suggested, a hint of disgust at the idea.

 _ **"The prince of Junes?"**_ the other girl asked with an annoyed tone, scrunching up her nose.

 _ **"Yeah, I know. He thinks that everyone looks up to him because he's the manager's son"**_ the ponytailed girl huff with a flick of her hair.

 _ **"Right? He's such a loser"**_ the other girl chuckled. Hanamura stared at the television screen with a blank expression, unable to process anything anymore.

" **You see that everybody just barely tolerate. Only you still try to pretend that everyone is your friend!** " the shadow said in disgust. Hanamura gritted his teeth as he gripped is head tighter and shakes it furiously.

"Ugh, shut up already!" Hanamura shouted. The television screen switched to a different video. It's Hanamura. Hanamura's face brightened as he stood up straight, a big smile of joy creeping on his face. He then pumped his fists up into the air, jumping a little. This was... This was when Konishi agreed to see the movie with him. I flinched as I grabbed Hanamura's arm, trying to pull him out of the way as the shadow leapt towards us. But no matter how hard I tried, Hanamura only shook me off as his body tightened, rolling up into a ball.

"I was only nice to him because he was the store managers son! But he took it the wrong way, and now that idiot totally thinks I like him." I flinched at the sound of Konishi's voice, causing Hanamura to tremble. Suddenly, I was smacked by a powerful force, causing me to fly across the stage. I skidded across the floor, earning scrapes and bruises. I panted in exhaustion, lying on the ground. I was at my limit. I had to get Hanamura and Berry out of here, but with the way things are now; I can't even pull Hanamura out of the way. Why am I so weak?!

" **Living in the boonies bores you, so you decided to ask her out! All you wanted was some cheap thrills!** " the shadow laughed.

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Hanamura began to shout repeatedly. I gasped in realization. That's it! Hanamura's denial of the shadow is what's making it stronger. The shadow prepared an attack, causing me to jump to my feet. I struggled to run over to Hanamura, ignoring the sharp pains in my body; picking up the speed. I threw back my left hand which was in a fist and shouted. Just before the shadow attacked Hanamura, I punched him out of the way. Berry giggled next to me at Hanamura's fall. The shadow grunted in pain, just like Hanamura had and staggered a bit, carelessly swinging it's hand towards Berry and I. I grabbed Berry and ran towards Hanamura, barely dodging the hand.

"Wh... What was that for?" Hanamura asked, stunned as he looked at me. His eyes suddenly widened as he took a short breath, noticing my appearance. I was panting heavily, trembling to hold myself up. My neat, short, silver colored hair was a mess. My school uniform had dirt on it, a few scratches on my body. I took a deep breath and placed a hand onto Berry's head, almost losing my balance.

"Konishi-senpai... You liked her, right?" I asked in between pants. Hanamura stared at me for a moment before his eyes softened at the thought of Konishi, nodding.

"Yeah... To be honest, I loved her..." Hanamura admitted, looking away slightly. I nodded and walked over to him.

"Then isn't that proof enough?" I asked, causing Hanamura to look at me in surprise. "That thing might have been born from you, be a part of you, but it doesn't fully define who you are. You're still yourself, Hanamura." Hanamura stares at me for a moment.

"Myself, huh?" Hanamura sighed, looking down at the ground. He chuckles weakly, as he ran his hand through his hair. "Dammit, it hurts to face yourself." Hanamura slowly stood up to his feet. I noticed that the shadow was struggling to stand, swaying to the sides. Was it because I had punched Hanamura that the shadow is injured? But I don't think I hit Hanamura that hard.

"She dumped you, huh?" I heard Berry giggle behind me. I turned around and saw her giggling and pointing at Hanamura. Hanamura growled at Berry, gritting his teeth.

"Watch it you!" Hanamura barked, causing Berry to giggle some more. Hanamura's firm expression started to soften as a look of shame fell on his face.

"I probably knew that deep down... But I couldn't bring myself to actually believe it..." Hanamura began, his firm voice disappearing into a more gentle and upset one. "But I wanted so desperately to try and fit in. I pretended that things were cool. Sometimes even I think I'm a pain in the ass..." Hanamura stuffed his left hand into his pocket and gently rummaged through it, pulling out something. It was the movie ticket that he had gotten for himself and Konishi.

"But my feelings for Saki..." Hanamura began. He shook his head as his hand tightened on the ticket, "What my feelings for Saki were real." Hanamura stared at his ticket for a moment before looking over to the shadow that was slowly starting to regain itself.

"So that's a part of me, huh?" Hanamura asked. He slowly began to walk towards the shadow, catching it's attention. "I guess if I'm going to be honest... All of this is a part of me." The shadow flinched at Hanamura's words, a part of him being static like. It began to ground and grunt in annoyances, trying to shake off Hanamura's words.

" **You are so freaking annoying!** " the shadow growled. Berry gasped, jumping up and down next to me.

"Something's wrong with him! Now's your chance, Sensei!" Berry said with excitement. I nodded and closed my eyes. Izanagi, come forth... I need you to answer me. Right now, I need your strength. I need you here with me, fighting by my side. This isn't something I can do on my own. Come back to me, Izanagi, or we'll both end up hurt.

Heat fills my body and a there's a tingling sensation like electricity on my skin as power builds up inside me. A familiar feeling washes over me as I opened my eyes, seeing the tarot card. I brought both of my hands to it and clasped it, bringing my hands to my chest. Izanagi appeared in front of me, looking as good as ever and extended it's arm towards the shadow.

"Izanagi!" I called out. The electricity that I felt in my body was released as a strike of lightning cutting through the shadow. Bright light and thunder fills the stage for a moment with the Shadow's silhouette as a stark contrast. When the light and sound fades away, all that's left is the shadow, returned to human form. It collapses to the ground, exhausted. Berry exclaims in amazement as I push up my glasses that were beginning to fall off.

Hanamura stared at the defeated shadow for a moment, taking a deep breath. Slowly, he walks over to it and crouches down before it, putting a hand on its shoulder. It looks up with weary yellow eyes.

"You're a part of me... And I'm a part of you" Hanamura says with a steady tone, truly accepting the shadow as a part of himself. At those words, the Shadow smiles. Not a sneer or a maniacal grin, but a peaceful smile. It closes its eyes and begins to glow blue until it disappears into the light. the blue light disappears as a figure materializes.

A black skinned frog-human like creature, wearing a white suit trimmed with a cameo pattern. On its hands are two large black circles with a red line through the middle of them, looking like frog eyes. A V-shaped chest piece like a toothy grin, and a red scarf that waves in the breeze. The figure disappears and is replaced by a glowing card that floats down to Hanamura. It stops inside his outstretched hands.

"Is this my...?" Hanamura asked softly, slightly stunned. Berry and I walked towards Hanamura as my breathing returned to normal.

"Persona" I answered as he moved the card to his heart, letting it disappear inside him. A calm smile falls on Hanamura's face as he stood up. Hanamura slowly turned around to face me, a guilty but grateful look on his face.

"Narukami-chan... Thanks a lot. You were a huge help. I owe you another beefsteak..." Hanamura chuckled softly, his laughter quickly vanishing. He looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of his head. "...I also want to say sorry. If I had snapped out of it quicker, you wouldn't have to be hurt this badly..." I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's apology, remembering what the shadow had said earlier.

 **"You were thinking there was a chance you might get lucky and become a hero!"**

I stared at Hanamura for a moment as he glanced up at me and shook my head.  
"Why should you apologies?" I asked, causing him to stare at me with a surprised look. "In the end, it was because you had accepted your other self that we're still alive. In a way, you _did_ become a hero." Hanamura's face brightened red as he stood up straight, staring at me with wide eyes. During the small amount of silence that Hanamura and I were sharing, I could feel our bonds as friends grow. With a small sigh, I rubbed my left shoulder with my right hand and looked at Berry.

"Let's stop investigating for today... I don't think Hanamura and I can handle another one of those shadows" I muttered, wincing at pain at a certain spot I rubbed. Berry nodded in agreement.

"This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you here" Berry added with a worried look, staring at me and glancing at Hanamura. Berry began to walk forward, leading us back to where we had entered this place. I followed behind Berry until noticing that Hanamura was still beet red at the same spot. I stopped in my tracks and stared at Hanamura with a slightly confused look.

"Hanamura? We're leaving, let's go" I called out, causing him to snap back to reality. Noticing that I was no longer standing in front of him, he saw me and quickly walked towards Berry and I. The three of us don't say a single word until we were far away from where the liquor store once stood. Hanamura was too flustered over something to speak, I was too exhausted, and Berry was just quite because we were.

* * *

3rd POV

Once the trio had arrived back at the main entrance where Yosuke and Hitomi had entered, Hitomi quietly let out an exhausted sigh. Her body and mind ached in exhaustion from the strain of defeating a powerful shadow filled with lance and malice. And with the temporary stop of Izanagi, Hitomi betted that she had more bruises and scratches on her body than when she first came in.

"Hey Berry, about what happened back there…" Yosuke began, catching Berry and Hitomi's attention. "What do you think happened with Ms. Yamano and Saki-senpai when they were thrown in here?" Berry blinked in surprise at the sudden question. Yosuke and Hitomi turned towards Berry as Yosuke crossed his arms over his chest, a serious look on his face.

"You want to know what I think?" Berry asked, still slightly shocked. She thought for a moment as her ears flicked. "Hm, well... I think that the people who got thrown in here were attacked by their own shadows, just like what happened back there with Yosuke-kun." Yosuke's expression turned surprised, then slowly began to soften in depression. Hitomi placed a hand on her chin as she thought for a moment.

"Attacked by their own shadows..." Hitomi muttered to herself, catching the other's attention. She continued to think as Yosuke looked at Berry.

"Why do those monsters, uh- shadows- attack people in the first place?" Yosuke asked, correcting himself in the middle. Berry placed her hands around her back, unable to tie her paws together.

"Shadows don't attack normal people. But when the fog lifts here, they go berserk and become really violent!" Berry explained with a frightened tone. She realized something, "Hm... Since they attacked us, they probably felt threatened by Sensei." Yosuke nodded with a serious look on his face, trying to understand everything that the female bear was saying.

"I was wondering about something for a while now..." Hitomi began, catching the other's attention. She lowered her hand, placing it on her hip. "Why did this world replicate the central district? Why replicate anything from Inaba?" Berry frowned in confusion as she averted her eyes from Hitomi's piercing gray ones.

"To be honest, I don't know. It only happened recently when the people were shoved down here" Berry explained. Yosuke fumed at the response, pondering for an answer. Hitomi closed her eyes, thinking carefully. So far, the places that Yosuke and herself had encounter was that strange apartment complex and the central district. The apartment complex only had one room available, a five story complex, and a nearby playground with a few surrounding buildings. At the Konishi Liquors, there was only one true room available; which was the main part of the store that the trio had entered.

"Maybe... It's their reality?" Hitomi muttered, a little bit uncertain as she opened her eyes. Yosuke looked at Hitomi in confusion, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Huh? 'Reality'? What do you mean?" Yosuke asked, wanting to get a clarification. Hitomi crossed her arms under her chest, looking at Hanamura. Yosuke couldn't help but glance at Hitomi's chest. Whenever she crossed her arms over her chest, her above average sized breasts would raise up. But out of respect for Hitomi, Yosuke quickly glanced away from her chest, doing everything he could not to look back.

"You had said that if something was wrong, Konishi-senpai would have talked to you about it" Hitomi began, causing Yosuke to pay attention on her. "But today, we heard her inner feelings. What I'm thinking is... Maybe this place becomes the person's reality, what they really see." Yosuke blinked in surprise as he let Hitomi's words sink in. Berry jumped up and down in excitement, catching Hitomi's attention.

"Wow, Sensei! You are one smart bear, I would never have thought that!" Berry praised, her eyes sparkling with legit stars in her eyes. Hitomi sweat dropped at Berry's praise, finding it a little bit unnecessary.

"So let's get this straight..." Yosuke began, gaining Hitomi and Berry's attention. "Saki-senpai and Ms. Yamano were thrown in here by someone. Since they couldn't get out, they wandered around. After a while, that shadow thing came out of them. The fog cleared, the shadow went berserk, and it ended up killing them." Hitomi nodded in agreement.

"Sounds about right" Berry agreed doing a little curtsy. Yosuke's face paled a little bit as a thought entered his mind.

"So, if it weren't for Narukami-chan; and I had stayed here until the fog cleared, I would have been in much deeper trouble?" Yosuke asked. He thought for a moment, shuddering in fear. An idea suddenly pops into his mind, causing him to unfold his arms and look directly at Hitomi. "Wait a minute... Doesn't that mean that...?!" Hitomi could tell where Yosuke was going and nodded before letting him finish.

"We can save whoever else gets thrown in here before the fog clears, just like we did with you" Hitomi finished for him. Yosuke smiled at the idea and nodded. He couldn't help but blush slightly as the words Hitomi said to him echoed into his mind.

 **"-In a way, you did become a hero."**

It had been a long time, if not the first, that a girl had been his friend who wasn't using him to get a job at Junes or fulfill some kind of dare. Hitomi was really a one of a kind. Not only because of her personality, but because of her deadpan/blank expression. The most he had seen Hitomi express her face with was by blinking in either surprise, confusion, or blush in embarrassment. It was a little humorous in its own strange way. Everything that Hitomi did seemed kind of serious.

"Wa-Wait!" Berry suddenly squeaked, causing Hitomi and Yosuke to look at her. Berry fidgeted a little, looking hesitant. Yosuke raised an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"What is it now?" Yosuke asked. Berry fidgeted some more, glancing up at Hitomi and Yosuke before glancing back down at her own feet.

"Will you guys... Come back here?" Berry asked, feeling shy for asking that question. Hitomi and Yosuke blinked at Berry in surprise.

"Well, yeah. You're our only exit that we know of" Yosuke said bluntly. Berry gasped dramatically, remembering what Yosuke had asked her to do before they began the investigation.

"Ah! R-Right!" Berry chuckled nervously. She then became slightly more serious as she looked at Hitomi. "In that case, I'll be waiting for you guys here. You need to come in from the same place every time so that we can meet up." Hitomi blinked at Berry in confusion, tilting her head slightly.

"Huh? Why?" Yosuke asked, his eyes slightly wide. He was sort of hoping that they didn't have to go in through the same place every time. It'd be a real bother to have to try and enter the T.V when there would be a sale, drawing in costumers. Berry looked at Yosuke with a nervous look, fidgeting slightly.

"You could come in from somewhere else, but then you'd end up in a different location! You might end up somewhere I couldn't get to you, and well... You'd be the next person to be killed" Berry explained. Yosuke's eyes widened in realization. He gulped and nodded. understanding the situation.

"Alright, note taken" Hitomi said with a calm tone, understanding the requirements. Berry smiled brightly at Hitomi and walked around them. With two stomps on the ground, the same stack of T.V's appear in front of Yosuke and Hitomi. Yosuke stares intently at the screens, trying to see if he can see through it to the other side.

"First we need to check and make sure there's no one around" Yosuke muttered, hesitating to cautiously sticking his head into one of the TVs. Hitomi let out a squeak as she felt Berry push her forward. Surprised by Hitomi's squeak, he turns around only to be impacted by Hitomi's body. A bright red blush comes onto Yosuke's cheeks as Hitomi squirmed a little.

"Okay! Go, go, go!" Berry ordered as she continued to push Hitomi. They were slowly engulfed by the TV's disappearing to the other side.

* * *

Hitomi's POV

Hanamura and I tumble onto the floor of the Junes electronics department, groaning at the impact. Just like last time, my glasses along with Hanamura's laid in front of us, in perfect condition. Hanamura and I grabbed our glasses and tucked them into our clothing for safe keeping. The two of us stood up with a grunt, noticing someone sitting on their knees in front of us.

To my surprise, it was Satonaka, still holding onto the severed rope. He stared at us for a moment, tears forming in his eyes. He looked as if he had just seen a relative come back from the dead.

"You... You made it back...!" Satonaka gasped, letting the tears silently fall. He gritted his teeth and looked down, rubbing his eyes constantly. I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. In a way, I did sort of break my promise with Satonaka didn't I? The promise I made with him echoed replayed into my mind...

"Narukami-chan, you can't do this! If you and Hanamura find something in there…" Satonaka began, his grip on my shoulders tightening slightly.

"You stay here, Satonaka-san. What happened last time has clearly gotten you traumatized. I'll go on ahead and take Hanamura" I began calmly, causing Satonaka to open his mouth; ready to argue. I raised my left hand in front of me, causing him to flinch.

"If it makes you feel better, I promise that if there's something we can't handle- something that could end our lives- we're coming straight back here." I gulped in guilt, lowering my eyes to my feet, occasionally glancing at the broken boy. Hanamura blinked in surprise at Satonaka and walked over to him.

"Whoa, dude... Are you crying? What's wrong?" Hanamura asks. Satonaka gathered up the rope that Hanamura had gave to him as a life line and threw it at Hanamura's face.

"Don't act like you don't know!" Satonaka snapped, tears still rolling down his face. He rubbed them away, only to have new tears form and jumped up to his feet. He grabbed Hanamura by the collar and pointed at the rope.

"The rope snapped as soon as you two left! I've been worried this whole time! I was scared shitless!" Satonaka barked, shaking Hanamura slightly. I blinked at the scene Satonaka was making and gently grabbed his arm, pulling him away from Hanamura.

"Hey now, calm down Satonaka-san. We made it back, didn't we?" I said to him, causing him to look at me. He opened his mouth to say something, but instantly closed it, gritting his teeth instead. His face burned red as he held his breath, holding in his anger. He looked back over at Hanamura and pointed at him.

"I'm so pissed at you two right now! You ass, I can't believe you put me through this! You two suck!" Satonaka hissed through tears. Hanamura flinched at Satonaka's directed anger, finding it strange that he mainly said everything at him instead of both of us. Satonaka turned around and muttered, "damnit" to himself repeatedly, wiping away the tears in his ears constantly as news one came. I rubbed Satonaka's back as Hanamura rubbed the back of his head.

"Look, I'm sorry Nise" Hanamura apologized, feeling guilty for making his friend cry like this. I nodded in my head, tilting my head slightly to see Satonaka's face.

"Me too" I said, continuing to rub his back. Satonaka continues to wipe his eyes, his face becoming red with embarrassment.

"...Ten orders of beefsteak" Satonaka muttered as he wiped his tears away one final time. Hanamura and I blinked in surprise and confusion, not understanding his sudden words.

"Come again?" Hanamura asked.

"I want ten orders of beefsteak!" Satonaka declared with a shaky voice, turning around to face Hanamura. I took a step back in surprise at Satonaka's recovery as Hanamura exclaimed in surprise, paling slightly at the demand. He quickly recovered and gave a thumbs up and smiled nervously.

"Yeah, of course! That's cool! That's a great way to say we're sorry!" Hanamura said nervously, turning toward me. "Right Narukami-chan?!" I blinked in surprise and pointed at myself.

"Huh? M-Me too?" I asked, slightly stunned.

" _She's_ getting me nikudon!" Satonaka announced, sending a sharp look at Hanamura. I sweat dropped at Satonaka's announcement before nodding in acceptance.

"Sure, you got it" I said with a nod. Satonaka rubs his finger underneath his nose, looking away with an angry, yet embarrassed face.

"Then we're cool" Satonaka said with a steady tone, a tiny frown on his face.

* * *

Hanamura and I walked through the Samegawa Flood Plain, heading towards the crossroad as we held our transparent umbrellas for protection. For the sake of Hanamura's wallet, I decided to treat Satonaka today. I ended up getting him nikudon, two plates of beefsteak for Hanamura, along with some roll cakes and his favorite soda. Satisfied by the meal, he decided to let Hanamura's pocket live another day. However, mine has died a very honorable death.

"Man... I'm beat" Hanamura complained with a sigh. I nodded in agreement, looking down at my uniform. It was completely covered in filth, some signs of tears here and there. I should wash it tonight when I get home and possibly sew it back together.

"That place is crazy dangerous..." Hanamura began, catching my attention to him. "Who would put Saki-senpai and Ms. Yamano in there anyway?" I stared at Hanamura for a moment before looking ahead. That was the question, wasn't it. Why would a person use the television as a way to kill people? How did they even discover the T.V world? I looked over at my hand that held my bag in confusion.  
How did this power of Persona come to existence? That other world itself was a mystery, along with the strange monsters- shadows. I shook my head a little, shaking off the questions that formed in my mind. I was too tired to think about it.

"If someone really is forcing people into the T.V, we can't just ignore it. We've got to find out who's doing it" Hanamura began, stopping in his tracks. I stopped next to him, staring at his serious expression. He gritted his teeth, his hand on his umbrella tightening, "And then, we have to find a way to stop them." I nodded in agreement, looking ahead.

"We promise that we would" I reminded. Hanamura let out a soft chuckle, glancing over at me.

"You did anyway" Hanamura scoffed, teasingly. I looked over to him as a pause of silence filled the air, the sound of rain calmly falling. Hanamura's tense body began to relax as a calm smile fell on his face, slowly turning to me.

"You know..." Hanamura began. "Even though you're a girl and all... For some reason, with you around, I feel we just might be able to catch this guy." I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's words. He chuckled softly at my reaction, his smile widening. He blushed slightly as he readjusted his orange book bag, muttering something I didn't quite hear. He switched his umbrella to his right hand and extended his left towards me.

"You in? 'Cause I'll be counting on ya" Hanamura said with a slightly pleading tone, causing me to stare at his hand. I could feel a small bond forming between us, our friendship becoming a little more acquainted. I switched my bag over to my left hand and shook Hanamura's hand with my right.

"Alright then..." I replied with a soft tone. Hanamura smiled at my response and released my hand, walking forward again. I stared at my hand as I walked slowly behind him. With that hand shake... Did that make the two of us friends? The mere thought made my body warm up.

Ever since her accident, no one had the courage to be my friend. Was it because of pity? Hate? Or did they just not know what to say? Whatever was their reason, I haven't made a friend in seven years... I closed my hand into a fist, bringing it to my heart. My lonely years will be coming to a close, I could feel it.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

I opened the door to the Dojima residence, instantly removing my shoes. The rain had soaked through my shoes and made my socks wet. I placed my wet, closed umbrella to the wall and sat down on the wooden floor above the cement, staring to remove my wet socks.

"Oh, welcome back" I heard Nanako call out. I looked over my shoulder and saw Nanako coming towards me with a curious face. I nodded a hello at her as she stopped behind me, scrunching up her nose.

"Did your shoes get wet?" she asked. I nodded while standing up.

"Afraid so" I replied, walking towards the washroom. Nanako fallowed behind me, her face still scrunched.

"I hate it when that happens! My feet get so cold and icky when I walk home" Nanako explained, shaking her head in disappointment. I nodded in understanding, opening the door to the washroom.

"Huh? Hey, what happened? Your uniform is all dirty" Nanako pointed out, causing me to look down. I had completely forgotten about my clothes. I placed my wet socks into the dirty laundry basket and rubbed the back of my head.

"Ah... I fell down on my way to class" I said, feeling a little bad that I was lying to a little girl. Nanako looked at me with a concerned look on her face, tugging at my sleeve.

"Are you okay?" she asked. I nodded in reply.

"I'm going to go upstairs and change into my night clothes. Do you mind if I wash my uniform?" I asked, about to walk upstairs. Nanako shook her head.

"It's fine, go ahead" Nanako encouraged. I nodded a thanks to her before walking upstairs to my room.

"Oh, I bought dinner! Want me to set it up?" I heard Nanako call out from downstairs as I began to disrobe. I removed my uniform top and shook my head, letting my hair relax.

"Yes please" I called out. I let out a small sigh of disappointment. I was sort of hoping to cook tonight so that Nanako didn't have to eat store bought food again. Oh well, I guess I'll have to make dinner next time.

* * *

Once Nanako and I finished eating, we turned on the television to watch whatever came on. Right before I could think that it would be best to go to bed early tonight, the news came on.

 _ **"Our next story is an update in our ongoing report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba"**_ the news reporter began. I sat up straight, listening intently to the upcoming update.

 ** _"At around seven A.M, local high school student Saki Konishi was found dead in Inaba's residential area. Since the body was positioned similarly to the last victim, and since Ms. Konishi was the one who discovered that body, police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death or Mayumi Yamano."_** I nodded to myself, slightly agreeing with the police's assumptions so far. It does seen to be the most logical reasoning at the moment.

 ** _"The coroner's report has established Ms. Konishi's time of death at around one A.M last night. The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area."_** The image of Hanamura's shocked and heartbroken expression flashed into my mind. I frowned a little bit in worry. I hope that Hanamura won't fall too deeply into depression. Of course, I didn't want him to fall into depression at all. But after looking a loved one, it'll take some time.

 _ **"-And now a special interview at Amagi Inn, located upstream of the Samegawa River."**_ I snapped my attention back over to the television, surprised at the mention of Amagi. On screen came a picture of a nice, slightly old, historical Inn.

 ** _"It is the town's oldest historical landmark. Visitors are known to travel surprising distances in order to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs."_** I stared at the picture, slightly in shock. Didn't think that Amagi was the type to have her Inn shown on television, seeing how less spoken she is. Yet again, because of the Inn's popularity, it seems that it can't be helped. I flinched as Amagi appeared on screen, wearing a pink and green floral kimono. She looked calm as microphones inched towards her, as if she has been through this multiple times.

 _ **"You're in high school and you run the Inn?"**_ A female reporter asked. Amagi shook her head a little.

 _ **"No, I don't run it. I'm only filling in for my mother"**_ Amagi explained.

 _ **"You look good in that kimono!"**_ A young male reporter pointed out, causing Amagi to blush in embarrassment.

 _ **"What?! Well, I, uh..."**_ Amagi stuttered, at a complete loss for words at the compliment.

 _ **"Is it true that Ms. Yamano stayed at your Inn before she was found dead?"**_ Another reporter asked, his tone sounding a little suspicious. I stared calmly at the screen, recalling the fact that news had shared last time.

 ** _"I-It is..."_** Amagi replied, a little nervous than before. She must have been a little sensitive on the subject. Nanako sighed softly, catching my attention.

"Daddy's late again..." as muttered. After a moment, she stood up and walked around the table, heading towards the kitchen.

"Gotta wash the dishes!" Nanako said in a sing song like tone. I watched her walk before standing up as well.

"Wait, hold on" I said, smoothing out my shirt. "I'll help." Nanako stopped walking at my words, looking at me with a surprised face. A bright smile then feel on her face as she gave a small nod.

"Okay!" Nanako chipped, happy that I was going to assist her. Nanako and I quickly did the dishes and cleaned up the living room before heading to bed.


	5. Missing Inn Manager

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair. This is...

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" the man with the long nose, known as Igor, greeted. Hitomi glanced around the room in confusion, wondering how she ended up here yet again. After obtaining the contractor's key, she hoped to have entered this room of her own abolition, instead of in her dreams.

"One's persona abilities are driven by the power of your heart" Igor began, drawing Hitomi's attention to him. "Which can only be created by your bonds with others." Hitomi blinked in confusion at the statement.

"It was only through your persona interaction..." the woman next to Igor, known as Margaret began, drawing Hitomi's attention to her. "And the subsequence bond that formed, that you are able to obtain the magician arcana." A card, showing two hands holding a blue flame with an eye in the middle, descended in front of Margaret; dissolving into her old book on her lap. The book grew a light blue, as if becoming one with the card, and Margaret opened it up. There, in the middle of the book was a moving picture of Hitomi helping Yosuke accepting his other self. Hitomi's eyes widened at the picture, amazed that it was replaying the moment inside of a book.

"And as your bonds deepens, your powers will continue to grow" Margaret began with a slightly serious expression, before looking at Hitomi. "I urge you, remember what you learned today." Igor closed his eyes as he lowered his head.

"Well then, it is time for us to bid farewell" Igor said, causing Hitomi to flinch. She had questions for the two of them and was hoping to get some answers. But soon, Hitomi's consciousness began to fade as the room slowly began to be engulfed by darkness.

* * *

Saturday, April 16th

I stared intently at my desk, questions rushing in my head. Last night after I helped Nanako with various house chores, and tucked her to bed, the midnight channel came on and there a fuzzy blob appeared on screen. Did someone already get thrown in? Who was it that was shown? I shook away the thoughts as I slapped my cheeks together. It first matter who was shown on the midnight channel, Hanamura and I are going to save who was thrown inside.

"Morning, Narukami-chan" I heard a familiar voice Looked up from my desk and saw Hanamura smiling at me as he walked over to his desk behind me. I turned around in my chair to face him as he took a seat.

"Good morning, Hanamura" I said with a nod. I started to feel my face heat up as I stared at Hanamura. I looked away, blinking in confusion at my heated cheeks. Then I recalled Margaret's words from last night.

"-as your bonds deepens, your powers will continue to grow"

I looked back over to Hanamura once my face called down. The magician arcana... I wonder what it means in fortune telling. Hanamura's facial expression began to change into a serious one as he slipped his book-bag of his shoulder.

"You saw it right?" Hanamura asked. I nodded, my own facial expression becoming slightly more serious.

"Yes, I did" I said with a firm tone. Suddenly the door busted open, catching Hanamura and my attention. Satonaka rushed into the room, looking around frantically as he panted. I blinked in surprise at his appearance. His bowl-shaped light brown hair was a mess, strands sticking up as if he had jumped straight out of bed. His face was drenched with sweat, his eyes slightly dilated.

"Nise! What's going on?" Hanamura asked, a surprised with a hint of worry in his voice. Satonaka Looked over at us, noticing our presences.

"Have you seen Yukiko?" Satonaka asked, his voice slightly trembling with worry and fear. I blinked in surprise, feeling worried about the situation now.

"What's got you riled up? Finally going to ask her out~?" Hanamura teased. Satonaka's face flared red as he gritted his teeth.

"Shut it Yosuke, this is serious! Answer my question" Satonaka snapped, causing Hanamura and I to tense up.

"Uh... Sorry, she hasn't showed up yet" Hanamura stammered, still stunned by Satonaka's anger. Satonaka's face became ashen as his body began to tremble.

"Oh man... What do I do...?" Satonaka muttered, his face in complete shock. I stood up and walked over to him.

"Calm down Satonaka-san. What's wrong?" I asked him as he looked down.

"I was watching the midnight channel last night..." Satonaka began, trying to calm down.

"Yeah, we were actually just talking about that too" Hanamura said as he stood next to me, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Um..." Satonaka continued, "I think it showed... Yukiko." Hanamura and I flinched at Satonaka's words, Hanamura loudly exclaiming.

"Are you absolutely sure, Nise?" Hanamura asked, his voice becoming serious.

"Yeah..." Satonaka said with a nod. "She had on this kimono, and I've seen her wear it before. She wears it during interviews or when she's out doing errands for her family." I nodded calmly, taking in his insight. Although the figure on my screen was too blurry to make out detail, Amagi did wear a pink kimono during the interview last night.

"I've sent her a thousand text, but she still hasn't responded...!" Satonaka said through grit teeth his body trembling once again. I placed a hand on his arm, trying to help him calm down.

"Did you try calling?" I asked. He took a sharp breath, closing his eyes in worry.

"It goes straight to voicemail" Satonaka answered with a sigh. Hanamura gasped softly, causing me to look at him.

"Do you think... Yukiko-" Hanamura began, his eyes wide.

"DON'T go there!" Satonaka shouted. The classroom that was once buzzing with different conversations dimmed down into silence, all eyes on Satonaka. Noticing the attention he brought onto himself, his face turned crimson with embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head, looking down at his feet.

"...Sorry" Satonaka muttered. He looked up and gave a nervous smile at Hanamura and I. "She's okay, s-she's probably just super busy right now! Or maybe she gone and lost her cell phone or something..." An idea came to mind as I lowered my hands back to my side.

"Well, do you think she could be helping her family out at the inn?" I asked, causing Satonaka to gasp at the word. It seems as if he has forgotten all about the Amagi Inn this town is so proud of.

"Yeah, maybe! That makes total scenes, I completely forgot about that!" Satonaka exclaimed. His pale face began to have its color back as Satonaka squirmed nervously, muttering to himself.

"I'll swing by and check!" Satonaka announced as he ran towards the door.

"Wha-? You're going there right now?! Dude, school is about to start!" Hanamura called out as Satonaka opened the door. Suddenly, his cell phone rang, causing him to halt. He stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his iPhone. His face instantly lit up as he answered it.

"Yukiko! Thank God, you're okay!" Satonaka chipped, a huge sigh of relief escaping. He nodded occasionally, listening happily to the safe Amagi. Hanamura and I exchanged confused glances as Satonaka continued to chat on the phone. Satonaka ended the call and walked over to us, a happy look back on his face. Hanamura let out a soft sigh of relief.

"All's good" Satonaka announced giving a thumbs up. "She's just been busy at the Inn lately because a huge group came in without a reservation." Satonaka swung his blue backpack off her back and plopped down to his desk. I walked over to my own desk, passing by his legs, to take a seat while Hanamura remained to stand.

"So if that wasn't Yukiko..." Hanamura began, crossing his arms in confusion.

"Then who was that on the midnight channel?" I finished, resting my chin on the palm of my hand. Satonaka suddenly kicked Hanamura right in the stomach, causing him to grunt and fall backwards.

"God, getting me all riled up for nothing, you jerk!" Satonaka growled, upset at the fear we had almost forced on him.

"Sorry" I apologized, drawing Satonaka's attention to me. "But there is a reason why Hanamura and I thought that Amagi-san was inside that other world." Satonaka raised an eyebrow,

"Oh yeah? What?" Satonaka asked, a tone that slightly suggested that he did not want to hear our reasons.

"Well..." Hanamura huffed as he struggled to stand up, using Satonaka's desk as an assistance. "We thought people who show up on the... Midnight channel because they're already over in that world." Satonaka had a blank look on his face as he looked back over to me, clearly confused. I nodded, backing up Hanamura's explanation.

"It makes sense, doesn't it? People show up on TV because they're inside the TV" I continued for Hanamura as he tried to regain his composure.

"But Yukiko's still here" Satonaka butted in. I nodded, glancing over at the windows that showed the rain begin to fall.

"That's what Hanamura and I don't understand..." I muttered.

"We got to check this out" Hanamura began, drawing my attention to him. "Narukami-chan, let's meet up after school and head to Junes." I nodded, thinking the suggestion was not that bad. Satonaka got in between Hanamura and I and pointed at himself.

"Hey, I'm coming along with you two!" Satonaka announced, causing Hanamura to blink in surprise.

"Huh? Why?" Hanamura asked, stunned by Satonaka's words. Satonaka looked at Hanamura with an angry and serious expression, gritting his teeth.

"I might not know as much as you two do about that crazy world," Satonaka began, "But since this includes Yukiko, I need to know what's going on." Hanamura's lips twitched upward into a sly grin as he stared at Satonaka. Satonaka looked over at me, unable to bear Hanamura's strange expression.

"You don't mind right?" Satonaka asked. Hanamura's expression instantly went away as he frowned in annoyance. I shook my head.

"It's fine. Hanamura and I could explain to you everything we learned so far" I replied. Satonaka smiled and nodded a thank you. Soon, the school bell began to ring, telling the students who were still out in the hallway to get to class.

* * *

After school...

Hanamura, Satonaka, and I were walking down the stairs towards our shoe lockers as Satonaka hummed to himself; skimming through a notebook with terribly sloppy handwriting.

"What's that?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. Hanamura raised an eyebrow at the sloppy handwriting, a smirk coming onto his face.

"Whoa, your handwriting really sucks-" Hanamura began, but was interrupted by an upper-cut to the face. I winced at Hanamura's pain as he slowly fell to the ground.

"I took a few notes for Yukiko" Satonaka said calmly, as if he hadn't just punch Hanamura in the face. Hanamura groaned in reply, rolling a little on the ground. I stared at Hanamura's rolling while a bead of sweat rolled down my jaw, feeling sorry for him. In the corner of my left eye, I noticed that there was a frail looking boy with short, bob-cut, green colored hair; watching the scene Hanamura and Satonaka made while putting up a poster. I looked over to the boy and saw that he was putting a poster in regards to culture club. There was a big golden trombone on the cover of the poster as the boy shyly walked away. There were two other posters as well, one had a female figure playing basketball with a white background, while the one next to it had an orange hand with a soccer goalie in front of it.

"Oh hey! You're the transfer student?" I heard a high voice ask, catching my attention. I looked over to the right and saw a girl with medium, dark blue colored hair in pigtails, dark blue eyes to match. Next to the bubbling girl was a calmer girl who looked tomboyish with short brown hair tied into a short ponytail, hazel eyes shining brightly on her face with a band aid on the ridge of her nose.

"That's right" I answered with a nod as the two girls approached me, smiles on their faces. They were slightly taller than me, but not very much.

"You interested in basketball?" the blue haired girl asked, placing a hand on her hip. I stared at her in slight confusion. Could she be one of the members of the basketball team? Strange, I never thought that this school would allow girls to play that sport.

"Not really" I said bluntly with a shake of the head. They stared at me in slight surprise at my frankness, before giggling. I blinked in confusion at their laughter until a call caught our attention.

"Let's go, come on already!" Satonaka called out, a hand on his hip. Noticing the girls standing next to me, he smiled and nodded at them. I began to walk towards Satonaka, bowing slightly at the two girls.

"Goodbye" I said, continuing to walk towards the slightly impatient Satonaka.

"Tough luck, Ichijo!" I heard Hanamura snicker. Satonaka let out a soft sigh of annoyance as I took out my shoes. I glanced at him with a slightly sharp look, causing him to tense.

"Well, let me know if you change your mind, girly!" I heard the blue haired girl call out. "We accept shoties and even bumbling sophomores!" Once Hanamura and I slipped on our outdoor shoes, Satonaka poked my forehead.

"Look at you, already trying to make friends" Satonaka chuckled. I stared at him for a bit before looking forward a little.

"I think they were trying to recruit me for a team" I thought out loud. Satonaka smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

"Nice! I actually know those two girls, I know they'd love to have you" Satonaka began. "I wish this school had some sort of fighting club so I could work on my kung-fu, but alas… I can't get everything."

"Alright, enough about that. We said that we'd fill you in on the info, remember?" Hanamura pointed out as he got in between Satonaka and I, causing Satonaka to exclaim in surprise.

* * *

I stared at the blank television screen Hanamura and I were instructed to fall into every time, looking nervously at the amount of people who showed up today for the sale going on.

"Damn, it's really crowded here today" Satonaka grumbled, shifting nervously next to me. Hanamura backed up next to us, a nervous smile on his face.

"Yeah... Sorry, I forgot that there's a sale in the electronics department today" Hanamura apologized softly, not wanting to draw attention to us. Satonaka sent Hanamura a sharp glare before sighing in annoyance.

"Well, what should we do now?" Satonaka asked quietly. Hanamura suddenly got an idea as he turned his back to me.

"Nise, turn around and act casual" Hanamura whispered, looking over his shoulder. Satonaka nodded and turned around, his back also facing me. I looked back and forth between the two boys, realizing that they were acting as a wall. Because I am much shorter than the two of them, Hanamura being about 5'9 and Satonaka being about 5'7, the wall could actually work. After a moment, Hanamura gently poked his elbow to my arm, drawing my attention to him.

"Okay, now try sticking your hand in there and grab Berry's attention" Hanamura instructed. I nodded and looked back over at the television. I slowly stuck my hand inside, feeling a strange tingling sensation around my wrist. I wiggled my fingers for a bit, making different signs with them. Suddenly, I felt my fingers be chomped down by a strong force, causing me to bite back a cry and pull my hand out.

"Hey, what just happened? You okay?" Hanamura asked, looking over his shoulder to me. I stared at my hand, seeing perfectly lined bite marks in front of my knuckles.

"Something bit me" I explained to Hanamura. Satonaka flinched at my words and turned around towards me. His eyes widened in shock and surprise, his jaw nearly dropping to the floor in disbelief.

"Whoa! And it left teeth marks too! Are you okay?" Satonaka exclaimed. I looked at him with a blank expression.

"I might be dying" I said with a serious tone. Satonaka stifled a laugh, pressing his lips down.

"No, you're not" Satonaka said with a raised eyebrow.

"Is that Nise-kun I hear? What's up! Is this some sort of new game?!" Berry's voice suddenly ask from behind the television, catching our attention. Hanamura, Satonaka, and I walked closer to the television so that we wouldn't so loudly.

"This isn't a game, bear!" Hanamura growled, getting annoyed at Berry's child like behavior. I placed a hand on Hanamura's shoulder, telling him to calm down.

"Berry, does it seem like there's anyone there with you?" I asked softly.

"Who's 'anyone'?" Berry asked. "I'm all by my bear-some. You can say I'm a beary-lonesome girl!" Satonaka placed his hands on his hips, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"I get it!" Satonaka snapped, causing Berry to squeak in fear. "Are you sure no one's there with you?"

"No, no! I'm not telling tales!" Berry said with persistence, trying to convince us she's telling the truth."My snout is working more bear-ific today!"

"Alright, thank you for your help Berry" I said, causing Berry to giggle.

"You're beary welcome, Sensei!" Berry giggled, sounding like a child who just got praised by her mother. Satonaka frowned in confusion as the three of us stood up straight.

"Okay, no one is over there..." Satonaka began, running a hand through his hair. "But yesterday we saw someone's face on the midnight channel! What's up with that?!" I placed my right hand on my chin and thought for a moment. We still don't know much about anything in regards to that world. We don't know how it works, so all we can do now is...

"We won't know for sure..." I began as I looked at Satonaka and Hanamura. "So tonight, let's watch the Midnight Channel again." The boys nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good" Hanamura said as he crossed his arms over his chest. A sudden idea came to his mind as he looked at me and smiled. "Oh hey, can I have your number?" I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's sudden request as Satonaka looked at him with a bored look.

"What for?" I asked, still a little stunned. Satonaka tied his hands behind the back of his head, closing his eyes in slight annoyance and frustration.

"Knowing Yosuke, it's so he can tell you dirty-" Satonaka began. Hanamura's face flashed red as he swung his arms down to his side.

"NO!" Hanamura barked, embarrassed. He looked over at me with an even redder face, strange sounds coming from his mouth as he tried to find words. "I-If I have your number, then we can discuss what we saw on the midnight channel!" I stared at Hanamura for a bit, watching his face became redder to the point his ears looked like cherries, before nodding in agreement. Hanamura let out a sigh of relief as he took out his iPhone. I took out my as well from my bag and quickly made a contact for Hanamura. Once the two of us had the contacts ready, we used the 'Number exchange' interaction and in five seconds flat, received each other's phone numbers.

"Well, I'm gonna go and warn Yukiko" Satonaka announced as Hanamura and I put away our iPhones. "She'll be super busy this weekend helping out at the inn so I doubt that she'll go anywhere, but still..." I nodded in understanding, knowing why he would want to be extra careful.

"Better safe than sorry" I said, causing his face to light up.

"Exactly!" Satonaka agreed, a wide smile on his face. The three of us decided to split up and do our own things for the rest of the day.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

The day had swiftly passed by in a flash. Nanako had bought dinner once again, making me wonder if she has ever even heard of the word 'ingredients'. Perhaps she feels that she'll bother me is she buys ingredients?

I stretched out my arms and legs on my chair, yawning in accomplishment. I was able to get most of my homework done, as usual. I stood up from my chair and walked over to the television. All I could see was my reflection, my V-neck gray shirt slightly crooked- showing my left shoulder- as my clock ticked.

Soon, an image appeared on the screen. I flinched in surprise, gasping softly at what was being show. Something was off about the midnight channel. The image is crystal clear and vivid, showing me the lower half of some sort of... Gargoyle? Suddenly, I could hear a girl making kissing sounds causing me to tense up. And there, slowly raising up from the lower right of the screen, was Amagi.

"Hello there~!" Amagi chirped into a pink microphone. I was stunned to silence at what I was seeing. Amagi was wearing a fancy pink dress, the torso part of her dress slightly see through, the top cut low showing the top of her breast, while her skirt is v-shaped- covering up her private area but low enough to see her belly button- with a lighter shade of pink.

"My name is Yukiko Amagi, and tonight, I have a big surprise! I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud!" Amagi announced, winking and pointing at the screen with her hand posed as a gun.

"Are you ready~? It's, 'Princess Yukiko's Hunt for her Prince Charming!'" Amagi announced as a pink and golden sign appeared behind her. So far, everything almost looked like... A low budget T.V show.

"And I came prepared! I've got my lacy unmentionables on stacked from top to bottom!" Amagi cooed, placing her pink microphone in between her breast while placing a hand near her private. I could feel sweat slowly roll down my face. "I'm out to catch a whole harem, and the best of the lot is going to be all mine!"

"Well~! Here I go!" Amagi announced before twirling around and heading towards the building behind her. The screen then blinked blank, showing me my new sweaty face with the same blank expression. That was definitely Amagi on the Midnight Channel. I wiped my sweat forehead with my sleeve, brushing my bangs as well. I suddenly heard my iPhone ringing over at my desk. I quickly walked over to it and saw that it was Hanamura. I picked up the phone and pressed the talk button.

"H-Hey, did you see that?!" Hanamura instantly asked, before I could even say 'hello'.

"Yes, I did" I replied, taking a seat on my blue couch.

"That was Yukiko for sure! It looked like her... I mean, she even said her name!" Hanamura exclaimed, clearly still in shock at what he had just seen. I ferried my eyebrows together as I frowned.

"I might be wrong seeing as how I've only known Amagi-san for a few days, but didn't the things she said sounded strange?" I asked. Hanamura, Satonaka, and Amagi obviously have known each other much longer than I have; but from what I observed from Amagi was that she seemed rather 'clueless about guys'. I'm not entirely sure what that means myself, but that's what some of our classmates whispered about during school yesterday.

"Yeah, you've got a point there" Hanamura agreed. "I don't know Yukiko as well as Nise does, but she has never spoken like that before. All that talk about, 'out to catch a whole harem' is something I thought she'd never say." Hanamura began to stammer strange noises again, unable to find words.

"Hanamura, calm down. For now, contact Satonaka-san and ask him to check on Amagi-san" I instructed calmly. I heard Hanamura take a deep breath, exhaling sharply.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right... I'll give him a call" Hanamura sighed, regaining his composure. "Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning." I nodded, despite the fact that he can't see me.

"Sound's like a plan. Good night, Hanamura" I said as I stood up, ready to end the call.

"'N-Night Narukami-chan" Hanamura replied, stuttering a little. I blinked in confusion at his shaky voice, but dismissed it as I hung up. Time to get some sleep.

* * *

Sunday, April 17th

I walked downstairs from my bedroom, wearing the same outfit I had worn when I first arrived to Inaba. A white turtleneck shawl, light brown scarf, lavender buttoned dress, black leggings, and a turquoise buttoned shirt that was aligned perfectly with my dress. My glasses from the T.V world was tucked safely into my pockets of my lavender dress.

I could hear a soft noise coming from downstairs, gradually getting louder once I stepped into the living room. The curtains were open today, as Nanako sat where she usually did bring dinner. She was drinking a glass of orange juice by the looks of it before nodding at me, noticing my presences.

"Oh, good morning" Nanako greeted. I nodded.

"Good morning" I greeted back. I looked around the room, feeling as if something was amiss but at the same time present. Dojima. As I looked around the room, I noticed that Dojima was nowhere to be found. I looked back over at Nanako who had turned her attention over to the television.

"Where's your father?" I asked.

"He left already. Dad woke up early, so I woke up with him. He said he'd be back late" Nanako explained, not taking her eyes off the television. I stared at Nanako in slight discomfort, fidgeting slightly. If I leave, Nanako will be left all alone to look after the house. On the other hand, I have some important business with Hanamura today. Nanako glanced over at me, noticing the strange silence.

"Are you going out?" Nanako asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice. I blinked in surprise before nodding hesitantly.

"Yes, I am. But I'm just hanging out with a friend" I replied, as a feeling of guilt washed over me. Nanako stared at me for a little bit before smiling a little.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine by myself" Nanako reassured as she turned her attention back to the television, leaving me speechless. Nanako grabbed the remote next to her, drawing my attention to the television, and switched the channel to the weather forecast as a young woman with long brown hair wearing a white dress appeared.

"-should have clear sky today thanks to a high pressure system that will be moving in through the day. So the weather this weekend will be perfecting for going out" the weather forecast hostess said with a smile. Before the woman could continue with the weather, Nanako turned off the television. I turned over to her once again as she stood up from the zabuton.

"It'll be sunny. I should do some laundry" Nanako said to herself, planning her day by the sounds of it. Noticing that I was still there, Nanako gave me a closed eyed smile that seemed a little lonely to me, causing me to flinch.

"Go and have some fun!" Nanako encouraged.

"Let's go have some fun!"

I froze as a familiar voice echoed in my head, quickly fading away. Time felt as if it had stopped. I couldn't feel my heartbeat, the sunlight through the glass doors warming up my feet, or hear the chirping birds outside. My eyesight felt unfocused, letting me see everything blurred out. I trembled a little as I gulped.

"Mi..." I muttered to myself, as if I was in a trance.

"Uh... Weren't you going somewhere?" I heard Nanako ask, causing me to force myself back to reality. Nanako blinked at me in confusion, most likely wondering why I hadn't left yet. I shook my head and nodded a thank you to Nanako.

"I'll be leaving now" I announced as I quickly turned around and headed for my brown boots. Slipping them on, I rushed out the door and headed out for Junes.

* * *

I sat over on the same table Hanamura, Satonaka, and I had sat at when Hanamura bought Satonaka and I some takoyaki. Having nothing to do as I waited for Hanamura, and not wanting my mind to wander to her, I decided to fold napkins into paper cranes. I could feel... With a small sigh of accomplishment, I placed my newly created paper crane down on the table next to the seven others I have made.

"Narukami-chan!" I heard a familiar voice call out. I looked over and saw Hanamura running over towards me with an excited look on his face, his hands behind his back for some reason. He was wearing a white leather jacket with his red headphones around his neck, an orange V-necked shirt, dark green pants, and brown combat boots.

"Hey! Sorry to keep you waiting!" Hanamura chirped, stopping right next to me.

"It's fine. But, what kept you?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. Hanamura's excited smile suddenly turned into a sly grin as he leaned forwards towards me a bit.

"I found something cool! Right in my closet at home!" Hanamura said, excitement building in his voice.

"Check these boys out!" Hanamura cheered as he stood up straight, raising his arms over his head, showing a katana and a nata. They gleamed in the sunlight, practically blinding me. I leaned back a little, taking in the bright blades.

"Um... Hanamura, are those...?" I began to ask, causing him to lower the swards.

"Relax! They're just fakes!" Hanamura explained with a chuckle. "Kinda cute how you worry sometimes!" I felt my face heat up at his last statement, staring at him blankly. Hanamura chuckled once again before examining the two weapons.

"So! Which one strikes your fancy?" Hanamura asked doing some ridiculous pose. I hummed in thought, a bead of sweat rolled down my jaw at the sight of them. The katana looked rather reliable, but I was beginning to worry about the attention Hanamura was drawing to himself.

"That's not really important right now..." I began. But Hanamura ignored my words and did another ridiculous pose, slowly drawing the Katana to his face.

"Yet again... I'd be a badass with both!" Hanamura said with a sly look, tilting the katana slightly and slid his tongue on the fake blade. I rubbed the back of my head nervously, scooting my seat a little further away from Hanamura as he started to swing his swords around like a fool. Bringing those weapons out was not exactly the best thing to do at this time around, especially with the recent murders.

"Um... Hanamura..." I said nervously, trying to catch his attention. Hanamura stopped waving his weapons around and pointed the katana at me, almost causing me to squeak.

"Here, I think you'll like this one" Hanamura offered.

"I've just come across a suspicious young male wielding multiple weapons and seems to be harassing a young woman. Requesting immediate backup" I heard a voice say, gradually getting closer. I looked over and saw a police officer making his way towards Hanamura. Noticing my gaze, Hanamura saw the officer and lowered his weapons.

"Put the weapons down, now!" the officer commanded. The officer then grabbed both of Hanamura's arms and tied them behind his back, causing Hanamura to panic slightly. I stood up in surprise at the officer's actions, becoming a little nervous. Hanamura looked over at me, then back to the officer, then back at me again but with a pale face.

"No... No no no no, this isn't what it looks like! I-I didn't steal it..." Hanamura stuttered, his face paling.

"Uh, I guess that's not what matter... A-Anyways, I'm not doing anything bad!" Hanamura began. "We're just two ordinary kids who like weapons and... Ugh, that doesn't sound right either. O-Oh, I-I wasn't doing anything to this girl here against her will or anything! W-We're friends! Really!"

"There's the delinquent!" I heard a man shout, drawing my attention. Not to far away from the yakisoba griddle station, I saw three new officers running towards Hanamura. Calming myself down, I rubbed the back of my head and looked at the officer.

"Please wait, this is all a misunderstanding-" I began, when I suddenly felt something hit my knuckles as I tried to point at Hanamura. I looked behind me and gasped, seeing an officer holding his nose in pain; stumbling backwards. I covered my mouth with both of my hands as I started to lose my composure.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you!" I apologies fidgeting in worry, not knowing what to do.

"Are you resisting an officer of the law!? You're under arrest too, girly!" the injured officer growled, looking at me with anger in his eyes. I blinked in surprise as an officer began to hold my arms. I tensed up for a moment before sighing softly in defeat. The officer I accidentally injured had heavy bangs under his eyes and had horribly smelling breath. He must have been working on the recent murders and like Dojima, not getting the proper sleep and nutrition he needed.

* * *

3rd POV

"Damn it, where are they?!" a familiar boy muttered to himself as he wandered around the empty electronics department. It was Nise, looking for Hitomi and Yosuke. Nise knew that the two of them were going back into the TV world, and were most likely going to go straight in early morning.

Nise looked around the electronics area one final time, before sighing in defeat. Besides from himself, there wasn't a single soul inside the department. Nise ran his hand through his light brown hair, gritting his teeth in both worry and frustration. He was betting his meat money on finding Hitomi and Yosuke here. He didn't have a single clear on where to look next. Nise sighed once more before turning around and exiting the deserted electronics department.

As Nise walked towards the entrance of Junes, needing to buy some grub over at Aiya's to help him relax, he noticed an unusually large crowd in front of the store. He could also hear a whistle being blown every now and then. His curiosity getting the best of him, Nise walked over to the crowed, gently pushing through to get a good look at what was going on.

Once he got to the front of the crowed, he saw a police car along with some officers push some people inside the car. Nise tensed up for a bit, thinking that they had captured the culprit of the case, but nearly face planted to the ground as he saw a familiar head of silver hair and Yosuke's face through the window.

"What the hell did Yosuke do?!" Nise growled to no in particular, as the police car began to dive off. He didn't know Hitomi all that well yet, but he could tell that she as a good girl like Yukiko. Nise wasn't Yosuke's best friend or anything, but he just had a feeling that this was all Yosuke's fault.

* * *

Noon...

Hitomi and Yosuke walked silently down the hallway of the busy police station, not wanting to cause anymore trouble. Their weapons had been confiscated before entering the station, making Yosuke's search for them a complete waste.

Yosuke glanced over at Hitomi and noticed that she looked rather nervous. Yosuke looked forward again and mentally cursed at himself. He was so stupid! He kept on messing with those stupid fake swords, trying to show off, and instead got arrested for it. Not to mention he was a total jerk and ignored Hitomi's warning, dragging her along in this mess. Hitomi on the other hand was worried about that officer she had accidentally 'punched'. She never thought of herself as a strong woman before, but she needs to be more careful.

"Hm? What's going on?" a man asked the two officers, causing them to stop. Hitomi froze at the voice as Yosuke looked up and saw a man who seemed to be in his early thirties dressed in a gray shirt, a dark red tie lazily hanging from his neck, and a pair of brown slacks on his feet. It was Dojima. Dojima's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Hitomi, walking towards her.

"Hitomi? What are you doing here?" Dojima asked, causing Hitomi to glance up at him.

"This young man with auburn hair was wielding multiple weapons and nearly cut this girl's head off, detective" the officer holding Yosuke explained.

"What?!" Dojima growled, sending a cold glare to Yosuke. Yosuke froze under Dojima's gaze, shivering in fear.

"This one here..." the officer holding Hitomi began, drawing Dojima's attention as the officer looked at Hitomi with guilty eyes. "Ah, well... She didn't really do anything wrong. Just another victim of Officer Mijigawa's exhaustion." The officer gestured his head over to the injured officer who was resting. Hitomi looked back down at her feet in guilt, starting to think about the officer she accidentally punched. Dojima stared at Hitomi for a moment before sighing and rubbing his temple.

"Let these two go, it's nothing more than a misunderstanding" Dojima ordered as he stuffed his left hand into his pocket. The two officers did as Dojima commanded and un-cuffed Hitomi and Yosuke.

"Don't go putting this on their permanent record alright?" Dojima said before sending the officers off. The officers saluted to Dojima and began to walk down the hallway, as if nothing had happened. Yosuke let out a sigh of relief as he rubbed his wrists.

"Whew...! That was a close one, huh Narukami-chan?" Yosuke laughed nervously. Hitomi, who decide on making 'Officer Mijigawa' some cookies as an apology, nodded. Dojima glared at Yosuke, not liking Yosuke's friendship with his niece. Yosuke froze at Dojima's glare, his face paling.

"I'm sorry this happened" Hitomi apologized, bowing to Dojima. Dojima turned his attention to her and shook his head.

"It's fine. Just don't do it again" Dojima began as Hitomi stood up. "You know what's been going on around town. We got men stationed everywhere." Hitomi nodded obediently as Yosuke looked between Dojima and Hitomi.

"As long as you understand, I'm not angry. Well, I don't know when I'm coming home, so lock up if I come home too late" Dojima instructed as he began to walk off. Hitomi nodded obediently once more before letting out a short sigh.

"So, uh... Do you two know each other?" Yosuke asked, still remembering those dangerous eyes Dojima shot at Yosuke. Hitomi looked over at Yosuke and nodded.

"Yes, he's my uncle whom I'm living with for this year" Hitomi explained. Yosuke jumped and gasped, his face turning purple. Yosuke cursed at himself again as he smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. Hitomi blinked in surprise at Yosuke's strange behavior tilting her head slightly.

"Are... You alright?" Hitomi asked, a little too stunned to speak. Yosuke sighed as he smiled wearily at Hitomi, a small blush forming on his cheeks.

"Ah, yeah, yeah... I'm fine" Yosuke reassured, chuckling nervously. Although, I seem to have made a really bad first impression on your uncle, Yosuke thought to himself. Hitomi stared at Yosuke for a bit until Yosuke smiled at her and pointed towards the exit.

"Right well, let's get outta here" Yosuke suggested. Hitomi nodded and the two of them began to walk back towards the entrance they entered from.

* * *

Hitomi's POV

Hanamura and I walked silently towards the doors, wanting to quickly exit the building so that we won't get arrested a second time today. As Hanamura and I walked down the hallway, we noticed a salesman of some sort wearing badge clothing and an officer talking about something as they walked by us. As the two men walked closer to Hanamura and I, I noticed that the badge clothed man had a small notepad in his coat pocket and a tape recorder in his hand. Was he a reporter or a journalist?

"Wait, so the one that disappeared is the Amagi girl?" the reporter asked. Hanamura and I froze, letting the officer and the reporter walk by us more slowly.

"Seems like it" the officer began. "But she's just a high schooler, you know? Could be that she decided to run away from home." Hanamura and I exchanged glances, questioning looks in our eyes.

"Yosuke, Narukami-chan!" a familiar voice called out. Hanamura and I looked forward and saw Satonaka standing near the entrance with a nervous and sad look on his face. Hanamura and I jogged forward to Satonaka, wondering why he was here. Upon closer inspection, Satonaka is wearing a white tank top with another black tank top the had it's sleeves ripped and loosely hung on his biceps, with a high collar lighter green jacket, navy jeans, and lighter green boots.

"Nise! What are you doing here?" Hanamura asked. Satonaka stared directly at us, his eyes looking as if he was about to tear up.

"Yukiko..." Satonaka began. Hanamura and I tensed. "She's gone missing...!" Hanamura flinched, his eyes narrowing. So what that reporter and officer were talking about earlier was true. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that a sloppy looking young man in his early twenties by the least stop in his tracks and looked over at us.

"She was definitely home last night, I checked" Satonaka began, his voice beginning to shake "But since then, no one has seen her at all! I've asked around everywhere..."

"I couldn't help but overhear your little conversation..." a voice began, causing the three of us to look over to the left. A young adult, with unkempt black hair, and gray eyes began to approach us with a straight look on his face. He's wearing a black suit with a white long-sleeved shirt, a crooked red tie, and brown field shoes.

"If this is about Yukiko Amagi, we already know about this" the man began. "Ms. Yukiko's family has asked us to go looking for her. Is she a friend of yours?" Satonaka nodded furiously, his eyes becoming glossy.

"Yeah, we are" Satonaka replied. The man stuffed his hand into his pocket and quickly pulled out a small little brown notebook.

"Can you remember something unusual happening lately? Did she seem bothered by anything?" the man asked as he skimmed through the notebook. Hanamura raised an eyebrow in confusion at the man's questions.

"Like what?" Hanamura asked. I couldn't help but feel like something was going to go very badly here in a moment. The way this man had said 'unusual' and 'bothered' made it sound like Amagi was suspicious of something...

"The murder at the inn" the man began, not looking up from a page in his notebook. "That's where Ms. Yamano was staying before the incident. It seems Ms. Yamano was a high maintenance guest that Yukiko's mom collapsed form the stress of keeping her happy." A small smile began to form on the man's face, causing me to stare at him. Was there something humors that he had known and we didn't?

"So, there's that..." the man began again, looking to the left and right before looking back at Satonaka. "See, some of the guys have a theory... The rumor here is Yukiko is hiding out because she did something to get back at Ms. Yamano to avenge her mother." My eyes widened slightly in surprise as I heard Satonaka growl. Was he suspecting Amagi as the suspect for the recent murders?

"Come on! You think Yukiko's the murderer?!" Satonaka snapped, his voice booming. The man instantly put his hands up in defense, taking a step back.

"Whoa, relax! It's just a theory floating around..." the man said nervously, his voice shaking a little. Satonaka gritted his teeth as he pulled back his left hand, which turned into a fist, ready to punch someone.

"Well it's lame!" Satonaka shouted, about to throw the punch at the man. I stepped in front of the man and tried to push Satonaka back. But since he was taller than me, he still tried to swing a punch at the man.

"Satonaka-san!" I said, pushing him back. Hanamura had to grab Satonaka's arms for him to stop trying to punch the man.

"Nise, calm down! Think about where you are!" Hanamura said with a serious tone, struggling to keep Satonaka captive.

"I-I'm not actually saying that she did it-!" the man tried to explain, but only caused Satonaka to try harder to punch him. Soon, officers began to gather around us, ready to use what ever forces necessary. Satonaka kept muttering Amagi's name to himself through gritted teeth, unaware of the police officers. Hanamura and I began to slowly, step by step, drag Satonaka to the door as he tried to calm himself down.

"Yukiko...! She would never...!" Satonaka growled, his composure slowly returning. Once we got outside, Satonaka finally calmed down. Hanamura and I released him from our grip, allowing him to fully relax. There was a heavy and intense atmosphere around the three of us as Satonaka kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"I still can't believe that the police thinks that Yukiko's the murderer" Hanamura began, assuming it was safe to speak again. "All that crap about her laying low is a bunch of BS." I nodded in agreement.

"She's the new victim, not the suspect" I muttered, glancing over at Satonaka. He was remaining calm, his body tensing up at Hanamura and my words. Satonaka is really worried about Amagi... If they didn't look so different, I would have thought that they were siblings. I wonder how close they are...?

"With the police totally on the wrong track, we've gotta handle it ourselves" Hanamura announced, catching my attention back to him. He was staring at me with a dead serious look. I nodded in agreement, lowering my head while keeping my eyes on him.

"It's only noon, so why don't we head back to Junes and rescue her? If we go now, we'll most likely be able to find her before night fall" I suggested. Hanamura nodded, liking the sound of my suggestion.

"...Hey" Satonaka began, catching our attention. His back was facing us while he was staring directly across the street that had the sunlight rays bounce off the top of the tree tops. "I'm going too." I stared at Satonaka as he turned around with a dead serious look on his face.

"We've got to save her. I'm going to save Yukiko no matter what" Satonaka announced. He looked over to me, his eyes either shining from her threatening tears earlier or from his determination to rescue Amagi. Either way, they were telling me that Satonaka wasn't going to take no as an answer.

"No you're not" Hanamura began before I could give Satonaka my answer. I looked at Hanamura in surprise and saw that his face was slightly worried and nervous about Satonaka joining us. "Look man, I know how you feel-"

"No, you don't!" Satonaka snapped, catching our attention. "You don't know shit about how I feel! Damn it, Yukiko might die from this! I'm going, and that's that Yosuke!" Hanamura blinked in surprise, taking a step back. There was a pause as Satonaka tried to regain his composure once again. Once it was safe, I looked over at Satonaka and nodded.

"...Alright" I began, causing Satonaka to smile. "But only if you follow some rules." Satonaka's grin disappeared as he raised an eyebrow slightly.

"It's really dangerous over in that other world" Hanamura began, continuing for me with a slightly frustrated face. "You don't have the same abilities as Narukami-chan and I, so you're going to need to stand behind us. We're also going to ask that you try and stay calm. If you start freaking out by what you see on that side, I'm going to throw you back out here myself. You'll only get in our way." Satonaka sent a sharp glare over at Hanamura, growling darkly.

"I ain't going to get in your way. If a girl like Narukami-chan can handle that world, so can I because I'm a guy! My reflexes are second to none!" Satonaka said carelessly, causing me to flinch. I must say, I was slightly offended. Realizing what he said, Satonaka looked at me with wide eyes as if expecting some sort of brutal punishment. I shook my head a little and began to walk over in the direction of Junes.

"It's fine, I'll let it slide. But let's start heading over to Junes and rescue Amagi-san like we have just now planned" I instructed. I soon began to hear footsteps follow behind me, whom I assume are Hanamura and Satonaka's. I narrowed my eyes in a serious matter. We'll save Amagi before she has to meet the same fate as Konishi and Yamano.

* * *

At Junes, Satonaka and I stood patiently in front of television that Hanamura and I were instructed to always jump into while waiting for Hanamura to return. Satonaka sighed in annoyance.

"Stupid idiot, I only recommended the bathroom as a joke...! I didn't think he'd take it literally!" Satonaka muttered. I nodded slightly, finding the whole situation rather humorous. There was a heavy silence around Satonaka and I as we waited, hearing the Junes jingle every now and then.

"...Narukami-chan?" Satonaka began suddenly, catching my attention. Satonaka was blushing, avoiding my eye contact, as his face was covered in guilt. "...Sorry about earlier. It wasn't very cool of me to loose my cool like that in a police station." I blinked in surprise at his sudden apology, shaking my head.

"It's alright, you were just angry" I replied, causing him to look at me. Anyone could tell that Satonaka really cares about Amagi and that the two of them have been really close. I could understand why he wanted to express his anger physically but...

"To tell the truth, you did frighten me a bit" I began, causing Satonaka to freeze. "You seem to be a very nice guy, but you're also a fraidy cat... However, they seem to be your best traits." I looked over at Satonaka, whose face was as red as a tomato, and nodded.

"If I ever need any help with something, or if I need to know what kung-fu movie to watch, I'll turn to you" I said, causing his face to burn red. Satonaka looked away, placing the back of his wrist to his hand. I blinked at him in confusion before dismissing it and looked forward; in hope for Hanamura to return.


	6. Shadow Nise Satonaka and the new bound

I groaned as two bodies landed on me, most likely Hanamura's and Satonaka.

"This is getting old... We _seriously_ need to find a way to enter the TV without landing on each other…" Hanamura groaned.

"Hey... Can you two... get off me? I can't... breathe..." I huffed, lightly hitting my hand onto the ground several times, like a wrestler calling quits.

"Oh! S-Sorry! No wonder the fall wasn't that bad like last time..." Satonaka stuttered as he and Hanamura quickly jumped off of me. I sighed in relief, feeling less pressure from my rib cage. A hand suddenly appeared in front of my face, causing me to look up. It was Hanamura, a worried yet embarrassed look on his face. I nodded a thank you to him as I took his hand, raising to my feet with his assistance.

Once I was up, the first thing Hanamura and I did was putting on our glasses on for the sake of getting a clear vision. Satonaka was looking around, a nostalgic look on his face. He suddenly exclaimed, taking a step back.

"Whoa! It really is that thing from last time!" Satonaka remarked, staring over at the corner where Berry sat in, her back facing us. I blinked in confusion at Berry's behavior and walked over to her, Hanamura and Satonaka behind me.

"Yo, Berry! What're you doing?" Hanamura asked, poking Berry's head. Berry stared out into the distance, a troubled look on her face.

"Can't you tell?" Berry asked, as if it was obvious. "I'm thinking about stuff..."

"What were you thinking about?" I asked, causing Berry to turn around.

"Well... After you and Yosuke left, I began to wonder about where I came from" Berry began, her tone covered in sadness. "After all, if Shadow's came from humans and I'm a bear... Where did _I_ come from?"

"Shadows...?" Satonaka asked. I looked at him, noticing the confused raised eyebrow, and nodded.

"Those monsters you saw when we first came here. Hanamura and I also told you about them" I explained, causing Satonaka to nod, now understanding what I was talking about. I turned my attention back over to Berry who was thinking even harder, her arms crossed with eyes closed.

"I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now," Berry sighed. I twitched at her pun, finding it a bit humors and yet painful. Berry's face suddenly light up, realizing the joke she had unconsciously made. "Hey, that wasn't a bad joke. Heehee!" Hanamura groaned in annoyance as Berry giggled.

"Bad puns aside, did you figure anything out?" Hanamura asked. Before Berry could answer, Hanamura shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty." Berry gasped dramatically before growling dramatically at Hanamura.

"How rude! Stupid Pervs-ke!" Berry scowled. Hanamura blinked rapidly in surprise and possible shock, taking a step back.

"Per... Pervs-ke?" Hanamura repeated, a visible bead of sweat forming on his brow.

"You don't understand the delicate heart of a girl, do you?!" Berry continued, ignoring Hanamura's shock, as he glanced over at me.

"That was rather rude of you, Hanamura" I said with a small nod, agreeing with Berry. Berry bounced happily and hugged my waist.

"Sensei, you so get me!" Berry squeaked. I placed my hand on Berry's head as a way of comfort, feeling my cheeks warm up.

"Hey, I don't want to sound like an ass, but will you just shut up?!" Satonaka interrupted, trying hard to keep his composure together. "Now's not the time for stupid jokes. Listen... Someone came here yesterday, right?" Berry gasped in surprise as she let go of my waist, her eyes twinkling.

"Wow! There's a boy with a better nose than me?!" Berry exclaimed, placing her paws below her mouth. "Wha-What's your name mister?" Satonaka flinched at the word 'mister', blinking nervously.

"M-Mister?" Satonaka echoed, sounding stunned. "Uh... The name's Nise Satonaka. How's it goin'?" Hanamura cleared his throat, snapping Satonaka out of whatever trance he was in.

"Oh, right! Never mind that, tell me more about the person who came here yesterday!" Satonaka demanded, his eyes returning to their fiery self. Berry looked over at Hanamura, then at me, the back at Hanamura; a recalling look on her face.

"I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys... After that, it felt like someone was here" Berry said, a little uncertain.

"Is it Yukiko?!" Hanamura asked, a little too quickly.

"I don't know, I haven't looked" Berry replied as she looked at Hanamura. I bent down forward a little so that I was at eye level with Berry.

"Do you know where the person is?" I asked. Berry nodded and turned over to where Satonaka was standing and pointed behind him.

"The presence is over that way! That's probably where they are" Berry guessed. I stood up and looked over to where Berry was pointing. Satonaka turned around with determined eyes.

"Over there, huh?" Satonaka muttered. I rushed over to him and grabbed Satonaka's arm right before he ran off.

"Satonaka-san, remember our rules?" I reminded sternly, giving Satonaka a sharp look. Satonaka gritted his teeth, his body tensing. Soon, he began to relax again, allowing him some freedom from my grip. Once I was certain that he was calm, I let go and took a step back, looking over my shoulder to Hanamura who walked over to us.

"Alright then. Let's go" I said with a nod to Hanamura. Hanamura nodded back and walked over to me, in front of Satonaka, and we were off.

* * *

"Didn't we... See this place on the midnight channel last night?" Satonaka asked, a little stunned by what the four of us were seeing.

After walking for a bit, with the help of Berry's nose, we found ourselves standing on a stone bridge leading towards a huge castle that resembled other castles found in typical European fairy-tales. The castle entrance consisted of a black and red vortex, much like the sky above. It was most certainly the castle from the midnight channel. The gargoyles around the bridge proved it.

"I think you might wanna wait out here, Nise. I know how scared you can get" Hanamura began, looking over at Satonaka with a serious- despite his teasing tone- look. Satonaka smacked Hanamura on the head, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"No way, I'm not scared! At least, not right now- I'm going in there!" Satonaka snapped. I stared at the two as they began to argue. It was rather remarkable to see someone like Satonaka- who, after our first encounter with this place wanted nothing more to do with it- sounded as if they were afraid of nothing. I suppose Satonaka is a rather persistent fellow... And a little violent when it comes to Amagi or some of his other close friends.

Rubbing the back of my head, I I looked over to Berry, who was preoccupied from sniffing the air.

"Berry, can you tell if someone is in there?" I asked. After two more sniffs of the air, Berry's face became serious as she nodded.

"There is no doubt about it!" Berry announced, causing Hanamura and Satonaka's voices to stop. "My snout has even locked onto her sent!" I looked over to the castle, my eyes locking with the strange vortex. So Amagi is in there... How do we even enter such a place? There's no door, so we can't knock. Yet again, knocking would be pointless.

In the middle of my useless- and frankly, _stupid_ \- thinking, I suddenly saw Satonaka run off forward, causing me to gasp.

"Satonaka-san!" I called out.

"Hey stupid, don't go running off on your own!" I heard Hanamura call out. I looked over my shoulder and nodded at Hanamura.

"Let's go before he gets hurt!" I instructed. Hanamura nodded and ran forward, quickly catching up with me.

"Don't leave my Berry behind, behind!" I heard Berry call out. Hanamura and I ran through the vortex and instantly saw Satonaka running forward through a hallway as the sound of his breathing and footsteps echoed of the walls. Without stopping, Hanamura and I continued to run after him.

As Hanamura and I allowed Satonaka in purist, I looked around; noticing the décor of the castle. While the castle's décor was gorgeous, though rather extravagant, the dark and empty seemingly-endless hallways were rather ominous. It almost seemed to be to the main focus of the castle... It almost looked… a bit lonely. Compared to the one's you see in fairy-tales, this one seems like the kind that was abandoned- having forgotten the cheerful ways of balls and active festivities.

My thoughts were abruptly stopped as I noticed Shadows starting to fly in the air, causing me to tense.

"Watch out!" Berry exclaimed. "The Shadows are getting really aggravated, Sensei!" Hanamura and I slowed down, noticing that the Shadows were mainly heading towards us- not Nise. That was when I remembered that Berry had said Shadows don't attack normal people... at least, not until their Shadow's agitate them.

"Damn it, he can't even see them. He's blind without his own pair of glasses" Hanamura panted with a stressed and exhausted tone. I quickly regained my breath and looked at him and Berry.

"Well then, I guess that means we'll have to take care of them" I remarked. Hanamura's stressed and frustrated expression quickly changed into one of excitement as he winked at me.

"Sounds good to me!" Hanamura agreed with a cheer. I closed my eyes as I focused on summoning Izanagi, feeling that exhausting but refreshing feeling flow within me. Opening my eyes, I saw the tarot card in front of me- the Fool.

"Persona!" I called out as I clasped my hands onto the card over my heart, easily braking it. The overflowing power that was hidden beneath my skin turned hot and the cold- earning a shiver as Izanagi appeared over me, his eyes gleaming blue. Pushing aside the relatively new sensations of summoning him, I instructed Izanagi to start attacking the enemies- causing him to grip his katana tightly while he thought of an extermination plan. I looked over to Hanamura and saw a similar blue light surrounding him.

"Bring it on!" Hanamura laughed as his tarot card, the magician, hovered in front of him. Calling out, "Persona!", Hanamura jumped while doing a spin and kicked his card; the similar glass shattering sound echoing around us. Hanamura's persona twirled above his head, shaking off the blue fire that surrounded it as if entering an old 90's concert with fog machines.

I looked back forward over to the Shadows and glared at them, causing Izanagi to being his extermination, quickly flying forward and slicing a shadow- that looked like two masked prisoners wearing torn brow clothing- in half. Another one headed toward Izanagi, in which Izanagi simply stabbed it in the stomach, throwing the Shadow over to another one, the impact strong enough to kill both.

"Nicely done, Sensei!" Berry praise excitedly. I looked at her and nodded a thank you.

"I got this one, Narukami-chan!" Hanamura declared, drawing my attention back over to the Shadows. To my surprise, there were two shadows heading towards.

"Jiraiya!" Hanamura called out as he pointed to the Shadows with a wide grin. Jiraiya must be his persona's name. Jiraiya flipped over pointed his index finger at the Shadow, a green-colored tornado blasting from the floor. I was rather impressed at this move, finding it rather cool looking. However, that impressiveness quickly vanished as the two shadows dodged the tornado and attacked Jiraiya lightly, causing Jiraiya to fall. I heard Berry sigh as Hanamura exclaimed in embarrassment. Izanagi flew towards the shadows and sliced them both in one strike, a sort of unamused aura surrounding him.

"Yosuke, you still have a lot to learn" Berry said with a bored tone.

"Man, all I get is crap from you!" Hanamura barked, his eyebrows twitching.

"Let's go" I instructed, wanting to catch up to the Satonaka who had escaped our range of sight. The three of us began to run forward, Izanagi and Jiraiya attacking any shadows that approached us.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, with Nise Satonaka..._**

3rd POV

Nise ran down the hallway blindly, blocking out the sounds of his breathing and his footsteps. He had one goal in mind, and that was to rescue Yukiko.

"Hold on Yukiko, I'm coming...!" Nise said to himself, seeing two tall double doors ahead. He glared at the doors and began to ran faster, ready to tackle the doors down. Nise let out a war cry of some sorts as he jumped, his feet pushing the doors open rather easily much to his surprise. In fact, he wasn't even sure if he had even touched it. Nise flew across the room, landing on something hard, causing him to grunt in pain. He was not expecting the doors, that looked as if they were made out of gold and red metal, to open so easily. Rubbing his butt in pain, Nise slowly stood to his feet, bending down a bit to balance the pain. He opened one eye and saw a room in monochrome colors. But something was familiar about this room. Nise gasped as he stood up straight, taking in the surroundings.

"This is... Yukiko's room...!" Nise said to himself, shocked at where he was.

It was a neat, clean, traditional styled bedroom. Tatami mats were laid about the floor, a dark gray rug in the middle of the room that had a chabudai and a zabuton on top of it. Directly across from Nise was a window with a sliding screen, a birds cage hanging on the wooden frame of the window, with a small desk sat below the cage. There was a kimono on display over on the left side of the room, a closest with a book shelf on the right side of the room. Being a man and Yukiko a woman, he wasn't entirely allowed to stay in her room for very long like he use to when he was a child. He didn't really mind since a majority of the memories he has with him in the room often had him tearing up as he struggled to do his homework- seconds later throwing his book out the window and dragging Yukiko outside to play. But most of the time, Yukiko would drag Nise back and the two would just talk about random things as _she_ did her homework, later offering her notes for Nise to read in hope to understand the material.

But why was everything monochrome? Nise looked down and flinched, noticing that he too was also monochrome. Shrieking in fear, Nise rubbed his hands together, hoping to regain his former skin color. But after a full minute of rubbing, he was still monochrome. Trembling in fear, Nise tried to calm himself down as he looked around the room once more- but in a more terrified fashion as compared to before. When Nise's eyes locked with the bird cage by the window, he took a few steps closer to the bird cage.

As he approached the bird cage, he noticed that it was snowing outside.

 _"I look good in red..."_

Nise gasped at the voice, instantly recognizing it.

"Yukiko! Yukiko, where are you?!" Nise shouted, not terrified at all of what was happening anymore, looking around desperately for his childhood friend. There was no response.

 _"My name means, 'Snow child'... And I hate it"_

Nise froze in place, shocked to hear Yukiko say that. The Yukiko that Nise knew would never have said the word as powerful as "Hate". Especially not in regards to herself. Was this really Yukiko speaking now? Where was she?

 _"Snow is cold... And it's never here for long. It's fleeting and completely useless..."_

Nise could feel his heart sinking heavy with each word Yukiko spoke. Did she really feel that way about herself? Nise gasped in horror at the thought and quickly shook it away, frantically scanning the room.

"Yukiko! Yukiko, it's me! Where are you?! Answer me!" Nise shouted, sounding a bit desperate as he opened the closet, shoving things out of the way. He didn't want to hear it. This person speaking... It wasn't Yukiko. It could never be Yukiko. The person who he has been friends with since childhood... there was no way this was her speaking.

 _"I guess... It fits me perfectly. Apart from inheriting the inn, I have absolutely no value."  
"Still... Nise was the one who told me, 'Yukiko, red looks good on you'."_

That caught Nise's attention. He stopped frantically searching the closet and took a step back, his heart beating. The room suddenly gained color. But not everything. Only the desk, closet, bookshelf, kimono, rug, chabudai, zabuton, and the single picture frame that had Nise and Yukiko smiling in it. All of those object bursted with one single color.

Red.

 _"Nise was the only person who gave my life meaning...  
Nise is always happy and strong... He can do anything. He has everything I lack...  
Nise is perfect... Compared to him, I'm just..."_

Nise face had grown pale, a strong grip of fear gripping his heart.

"Yukiko... Is that... What you _really_ think...?" Nise asked out loud, his voice trembling. He suddenly felt something bump into his right foot, causing him to flinch and look down. It was a small, Santa wind up doll. Nise's pupils shrank in fear as he stared at the Santa doll. That... That's what he gave Yukiko two years ago, on Christmas. All this time, and he had never knew that he had impacted the kind, beautiful, responsible Yukiko Amagi this much. To go as far as to keep a stupid toy for two years...

 _"Nise... Will always protect me.  
I may be worthless, but Nise's nice... He'll look after me."_

"Yukiko... I... How can I...?!" Nise stammered, his body trembling. It was a bit ironic... he wants to protect Yukiko. She's his dearest friend. But with the way he was...

" **'Nice Nise' huh? That's so sweet of her...!** " a familiar, distorted voice sneered. Nise flinched at the voice and turned around, the red and monochrome room disappearing as he stood in a new room. It looked similar to the castle's décor he was just in.

"Wha... What the-?!" Nise stuttered, seeing a very familiar person standing in front of him. It was him, Nise Satonaka. But the other Nise had strange, hallow golden eyes that seemed to glow through tears as his hands covered his bottom lips in a cowardly way. Nise couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise, taking a step back from the doppelganger.

"Who... the hell are you?" Nise struggled to ask.

" **I-I'm...** **Nise Satonaka, of course...** " the doppelganger replied quickly with a trembling voice, as if he heard someone ask a really dumb question underneath his cowardly ways.

"Cut the crap!" Nise snapped, taking another step back. " _I'm_ Nise Satonaka!" He seemed rather annoyed and yet nervous to see a person so similar to himself acting in such a cowardly way.

" **A-And _I'm_ Nise Satonaka too...!** " the doppelganger added, rather quickly.

"The fu... That's insane! There can only be _one_ me!" Nise argued weakly, his body trembling. He was furious of what was happening right now. He was having an argument with _himself_. Not only that, it was with him that was acting so pathetic he could punch the doppelganger. Nise suddenly realized something and marched right up to the doppelganger, grabbing his jacket's collar.

"Where's Yukiko?!" Nise shouted. The doppelganger flinched at Nise's loud voice and trembled with a whimper.

" **O-Oh,** **Yukiko...?** " the doppelganger asked, weakly. " **I-I don't know... B-B-But d** **id you hear what she said? S-She actually thinks that _I-_ _I'm_ protecting _her_! S-She also thinks that she's absolutely worthless! D-Don't you love that...?** " Nise flinched at the doppelganger's words and glared at it, his grip on his collar tightening.

"What are you talking about?! That ain't funny!" Nise barked, causing the doppelganger to whimper. For some reason, the doppelganger was making Nise furious really fast- faster than anyone has ever been able to do so. Perhaps it was because the doppelganger had his face and was acting so weak and... almost girly.

" **Y-Yukiko so brave and smart a-and hot to boot...! E-Everyone _looooooves_ her!** " the doppelganger began, a rather bashful look on his face. " **B-But when I heard that Yukiko was actually jealous of _m-_ _me_? M-Man, did I get a charge out of that...!** " Nise froze, that same feeling of fear gripping his heart- causing it to stop temporarily. The doppelganger took his chance and gently pulled Nise's hands away from his collar, taking a step back.

" **T-The truth is... I-If I wasn't around, Y-Yukiko couldn't do anything. S-She's _nothing_ without me...! B-Because _I'm_ the brave, smart, _and_ hot one around here!** " the doppelganger continued, his trembling voice slowly disappearing as his voice raised with a smirk. Nise's eyes widened as he felt his blood turned cold, taking several steps back.

* * *

Hitomi's POV

"There! Up ahead, Sensei! I can smell Nise-kun!" Berry exclaimed, pointing ahead to the tall double doors. Hanamura and I began to pick up the speed, hearing muffled voices from the other side. Hanamura got on the left door while I got on the right, and at the same time the two of us began to push the doors open.

Once the door was wide enough to allow Hanamura and I in, we rushed inside; the doors opening wider as Izanagi and Jiraiya barged through.

"Hey Nise, you okay?!" Hanamura called out. Berry exclaimed in fear as she hid behind me, Hanamura and myself gasping a little, stopping a meter or so from Satonaka... And a much more feminine version of Satonaka standing not that far away from the real Satonaka.

"Oh, man... Is that...?!" Yosuke began, his eyes widening at the sight of the other Satonaka.

"It's just like Yosuke!" Berry squeaked. "He lost control over his suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!" Finally hearing our voices, Satonaka turned around, his face as white as a newly washed, white bed sheet.

"G-Guys... I-I'm-!" Satonaka began, his voice cracking to the point I thought he had been here for years without an water. Suddenly realizing something, Satonaka shook his head frantically and hugged himself.

"N-No! Just stay there! Don't come near me!" Satonaka snapped, his expression suddenly turning furious. Then his face turned sour, his hands sliding up his arms and covering his ears with his head.

"No... No no no no no no no! It's all lies! They're all lies!" Satonaka shouted, his body trembling violently. I flinched at Satonaka's trembling body, taking a step forward.

"Satonaka-san, calm down! You're not sane!" I called out.

"You idiot...!" Hanamura growled as he began to run over to him. Suddenly, the room bursted with Shadows, several ones with white and black stripes- their tongues hanging out- surrounding Satonaka and his shadow. Berry suddenly screamed, tugging my dress furiously. I turned around and saw multiple shadows flying towards Izanagi and Jiraiya. Turning around to face them, I felt something- or rather, _someone_ \- touch my back with theirs.

"Damn it...! There's so many of them!" Hanamura growled as Izanagi and Jiraiya got prepared to attack, their backs touching like Hanamura and I. I looked over to Berry and pushed her a little.

"Go hide, Berry" I instructed calmly. Berry hesitantly nodded and ran off over to the corner of the room as Hanamura and I turned our attention to Satonaka. Satonaka's Shadow let out a sigh, taking a deep breath. The almost girly looking face on Satonaka's Shadow hardened, looking more of a manly one while crossing his arms over his chest.

" **That's right. _I'm_ the one who can't do anything alone... Nobody gives a shit about scared, stupid, little ol' Nise... I can't win as a guy, let alone as a person; I'm pathetic! But Yukiko... She _depends_ on me. She needs _me_ to _protect_ her _!_** " the Shadow began. Satonaka gasped at the words, his face turning sickly pale. This is bad, Satonaka's mental health is in danger!

" **That's why she's my friend... I'll _never_ loosen my grip on her. People will look at me as some strong, macho dude with Yukiko around. A perfect cover up for my pathetic cowardly ways!** " The Shadow's face began to grow irritated. The Shadow brought his hands close to his eyes and wiped his tear covered eyes, looking feminine like before.

" **But y-y'know what makes me sad...? How much braver Y-Yukiko is compared to me. G-Girls are supposed to do girly things, hang out with friends, and act d-defenseless. But then there's Yukiko- the near to perfect girl who would have been better off as a guy...! I-I wish I was born a girl so that I wouldn't f-feel so awful about feeling satisfied from being depended on...!** "

"No...! That isn't what I think...!" Satonaka stammered, terrified and frustrated. Shadow Satonaka looked up from his hands, looking muscular again as he glared at the real Satonaka.

" **Oh, but it _is_** " the Shadow sneered, shoving his hands into his pockets. " **I'm such a pathetic bitch that it took me an entire year just to get over the fact that someone would have to try and punch me during kung-fu class! I can't even get dressed without worrying that someone will walk in. Why should I even care- I'm a _guy_! But that shows just how much of a bitch I am. I'm so pathetic. Why can't girls act like little things that can't defend themselves and leave the hardcore stuff- like working- to us men? Maybe I'd finally be able to pass as a human being!** "

My eyes widened in surprise as I looked at Satonaka. Is that how he really feels? How does that earlier feminine side connect with all of this? Perhaps it was all a cover up...? Satonaka's words echoed into my ears as I recalled what he said back at the police station...

 _"If a girl like Narukami-chan can handle that world, so can I because I'm a guy!"_

I blinked in surprise as Satonaka's voice vanished from my head. Could it be that he's a lot more timid that he appears to be? Is that why he likes all those kung-fu movies- to try and feel more masculine that he actually is?

Satonaka fell to his hands and knees, his body trembling. He looked just about ready to collapse and stat crying like a newborn baby.

"No...! You're wrong...!" Satonaka whimpered, his voice shaking.

" **Are you really going to continue to ignore me? _Pretend_ that I don't exist?** " the Shadow asked, tears welling up in it's hollow eyes as it pouted in a girly way.

"Shut up! You aren't real! You AREN'T real!" Satonaka shouted, shaking his head furiously.

"You have to be strong, Satonaka-san!" I encouraged.

"He's a liar! That isn't me!" Satonaka shouted, his emotions finally breaking. Satonaka's Shadow began to laugh- weakly at first, but gradually becoming hysteric- slowly turning warped, echoing throughout the room as a black and red aura soon engulfed him. Hanamura and I braced ourselves as the black and red aura swiftly passed. The whole room was tinted with an eerie, red light. Satonaka's Shadow was no longer the same as before, now taking on a different form that suited his sudden aggression.

Satonaka's shadow took on the form of a dominatrix scantily clad in yellow leather. He wore long, yellow gloves that covered up to his upper arms and sharply heeled knee-length boots. The upper part of Satonaka's Shadow's face was covered by a cone-shaped yellow mask with an over exaggerated smiley face drawn on it, it's eyes sparkling like from a shoujo manga character. He was supported by three puppets that resembled girls in our school uniform, their faces red with hearts in their eyes. The puppets all struggled to hold Satonaka's Shadow in place while he sat on top. Long chain dangled in between his fingers on his right hand, a girl holding onto him looking distressed, and in his left hand he wielded a whip. The girl that he was holding had long black hair that covered the floor behind them.

" **I am a shadow, of your _true_ inner self!** " Satonaka's Shadow said firmly, sounding more like the Satonaka I had come to be acquainted with, rather than that timid boy. Satonaka let out an ear piercing scream, causing Hanamura and I to take action.

"Nise!" Hanamura shouted, causing Jiraiya to use his two shuriken, slashing the enemies around Satonaka. Satonaka's Shadow growled in annoyance and pulled his whip back. Before the whip could strike Satonaka, Hanamura tackled him out of the way.

" **DON'T GET IN MY WAY!** " Satonaka's Shadow shouted, glaring at Hanamura. The chain around Satonaka's Shadow's hand aimed towards Hanamura and Satonaka, ready to smash them. I glared at the shadow, causing Izanagi to slash the chains, destroying them with ease. Satonaka's Shadow looked over at me, it's eyes wide with fear.

" **W-Why would you do that? Y-You could have hit** **me!** " Satonaka's Shadow whimpered. For a moment, I felt almost guilty. But then grinned evilly, causing me to flinch.

" **It seems we have an annoying _bitch_ in our midst!** " the Shadow growled. " **Well then, I better teach you a little LESSON!** " Satonaka's Shadow used the girl's hair, ignoring her cry of pain, to whip me. I stood my ground as Izanagi slashed the girls hair, turning it to black mist.

"Bear-ific Sensei! You were great!" I heard Berry praise. I flinched at Berry's voice, turning around to look for her.

"Berry?!" I called out in slight surprise, seeing that she was standing in plain sight. I suddenly heard Hanamura let out a cry of pain, causing me to look forward again. Jiraiya was standing in front of Izanagi, blocking Satonaka's Shadow's remaining chains. Satonaka's Shadow slashed the chains, causing Jiraiya to fly backwards. Hanamura let out another cry as he himself flew as well, leaving Satonaka unprotected.

"Hanamura!" I called out. Satonaka's Shadow laughed hysterically as he used the girls long hair to hold Jiraiya captive. Jiraiya struggled to get out of the Shadow's grip, squirming. I began to ran forward, but numerous Shadows surrounded me. I glared at them as Izanagi began to destroy them.

" **You're still there?** " Satonaka's shadow asked, glaring at Satonaka. " **I wish you'd die already! I promise to treat Yukiko very well~! I'll tell her just how much she 'means' to me~!** " Satonaka's shadow grabbed the girl's head, tilting it back and licking the girls throat. I felt my face heat up a little in surprise, a little stunned that Satonaka thought of Amagi in a sexual manor. Satonaka flinched at his Shadow's actions and words, glaring weakly at it.

"Let her be...!" Satonaka growled. "I never... Thought of Yukiko like that!"

"Nise! Be smart...! Don't let him trick you...!" Hanamura said with a shaky voice, struggling to sit up. Satonaka's Shadow glared at Hanamura, using his whip to tightly wrap Hanamura's neck. Hanamura choked out in pain, gripping and pulling the whip to releases him.

"Hanamura!" I called out again, ready to aid him. A Shadow suddenly swooped in front of me, blocking my way. I gritted my teeth in annoyance as more began to gather.

" **I'm not trying to trick him. These are my true colors!** " Satonaka's Shadow said with a bored tone, tears welled up. He raised up his right hand, raising the chains.

" **Like it... OR NOT!** " Satonaka's shadow shouted as the chains smacked the ground, causing the room to turn black.

* * *

3rd POV

Nise slowly opened his eyes, his consciousness returning. He gasped in horror as he saw multiple empty faces floating around all with the same grin. It was Nise's face.

 _Yukiko is so pretty and strong… I should have been born a girl._

 _But I have to be strong, because I'm a boy... And with the boys going crazy over her, I have to protect her, right?_

"This is… me?" Nise asked to no one in particular. After all, there was no one else in sight besides from him and his empty faces.

" **Yes** " a distorted voice said in a sly tone. Nise flinched at the voice, recognizing it as his doppelganger. " **Those are all of the feelings you have. The ones you keep bottled up, deep down inside.** "

 _Without me around, she can't do anything- because I'm a guy and she's a girl._

 _If it weren't for me… She'd be nothing. As long as I can keep up my strong guy attitude, people will finally forget that I'm such a coward._

"No, no...! NO!" Nise screamed, his face pale with disgust and horror.

"I... This is how I... really feel? I'm… I'm a pig…!" Nise sobbed in disgust, tears threatening to form. How could he have let himself feel this way about his best friend? About his friend who had saved him- who he could be open with without feeling any shame or embarrassment.

Slowly, his body began to disappear, his face becoming just like the other masks floating around. Nise was so disgusted by himself... He didn't want to live anymore.

"So what if it is true?! Who cares!"

Nise gasped at the familiar voice. It was Yosuke's voice.

"You're still her friend, aren't you?" Hitomi's voice asked, causing Nise's heart to stop. Something rushed back into his mind- a beautiful thing. Something he will remember something that he will always cherish. The day that he and Yukiko first met. When they first became friends.

* * *

 ** _10 Years ago..._**

It was a rainy, misty day in Inaba. A little girl with medium length black hair that were tied in pigtails, a red headband on top of her head, wearing a light pink dress sat on the top of the stairway leading to the Samegawa River. The rain poured down on her small body, getting her soaked, but the little girl didn't care. She didn't mind, because it was just water after all. In the little girls arms was a small puppy with white fur and brown spots. The little girl held the puppy tighter in her arms, wanting comfort.

As the rain continued to fall, a small boy with light brown hair styled into a bowl hair cut happily stomped in the puddles, getting his green boots muddy. The little boy had large tears in his eyes that fell as quick as the rain, sliding on the outside of his boots. There was no real reason for the boy to be crying, but the tears wouldn't stop falling. Rubbing his wet eyes with his big- _too_ big- long sleeved shirt and began to walk again.

As the boy walked, he saw the little girl sitting by herself at the top of the stairs. The little boy stared at the girl, wondering what she was doing. Curious, the little boy walked over to the little girl, holding his umbrella up above her.

"What's up?" the little boy asked, catching the little girl's attention. The little girl was rather surprised to see such a sad looking boy, who had obviously been crying due to his tear streaked face. Noticing the puppy in the girls arms, the little boy's face brightened so much that it looked like his yellow umbrella.

"Whoa! How cute! Is that guy yours?" the little boy asked, causing the puppy to being wagging it's tail, happily. The little girl looked at the little boy with a surprised face before looking hugging the puppy, avoiding the boy's eyes.

"I found him..." the little girl began, shyly. Tear began to well up in her eyes, hugging the puppy close to her face. "But my parents said that he can't stay, he has to go. And now… He'll be all alone again…!" Seeing the little girl's tears, the little boy began to tear up as well, the tears he had earlier wiped away falling down from his eyes yet again. The little boy dropped his umbrella to the side, wiping his tears away.

"Th-that's so sad...! Please don't cry!" the little boy sobbed, catching the girl's attention. She stared at him in surprise- finding it rare for a boy her age to be crying so openly. What surprised her more was the fact that the boy was not only crying for the dog- but for her as well. Sobbing and sniffing his running nose, the little boy wiped his eyes violently and pressed his lips together as he took deep breaths through his nose.

"Hey! Check this out!" the little boy shouted once he had calm down, causing the little girl to jump in surprise. The little boy began to stretch his face, making strange sounds. He soon started to do some strange dance moves, almost falling on his face as he tried to flap his arms like a bird while skipping in place, all the while- tears running down his face. The little girl, stunned by the boys actions and tears, began to giggle. Hearing the little girl's giggling caused the boy to stop, a small smile underneath fresh tears, as he panted.

"Sorry for crying... I know it isn't very manly of me..." the little boy apologized, bowing slightly. The little girl shook her head and smiled gently at him.

"It's okay... It's a good thing" the little girl giggled. The little boy straightened up in surprise and gasped, fresh tears welling up in his eyes. Wiping his tears away, the little boy smiled.

"I-I'm Nise! What's your name?" he asked. The little girl slowly stood up due to the weight of the puppy in her arms, a smile on her face.

"Hi there... I'm Yukiko" the little girl greeted shyly. Yukiko wasn't used to talk with boys her age before. But somehow, she felt strangely comfortable with Nise. After all, he was the first boy she had ever met since pre-school that cried so openly in front of her.

"O-Okay, we're friends now!" Nise cheered as a tear fell down his swollen right eye, causing Yukiko's smile to widen. Nise looked at the puppy in Yukiko's arms and petted him. "Same goes from you, big guy!" Yukiko giggled softly, slowly giving the dog to Nise.

"Take good care of him" Yukiko said with a nod. Nise blinked at Yukiko with wide eyes, before smiled and nodded as more tears fell down his face.

"Okay! And hey, if you ever want to see him, come stop by my place and the three of us can play!" Nise hiccuped happily, as the sun shone down on the two from the gray, cloudy sky.

* * *

 _ **Present Day...**_

Nise closed his eyes as the treasured memory slowly drifted from his mind. He opened his eyes with a gentle smile on his face, his body quickly returning to him.

"Yukiko..." Nise muttered to himself. "Even if I do have these feelings inside... You and me; we'll always be friends!" Nise took a deep breath, gathering as much courage as he can to prepare himself for what he was about to do next. Nise slowly turned around and shot a deadly look upwards into the darkness.

"Listen, you're a part of me. It's true" Nise began, causing the darkness to disappear as if it was cut by Nise's words. "You're a voice... That I pretend doesn't exist." Hitomi weakly fell to her knees, catching her breath as Izanagi finally finished off the last of the pestering Shadows.

"You're the pathetic part of me..." Nise continued as he slowly stood up, facing his shadow. "But... You're still a part of me. Isn't that right?" Yosuke continued to struggle to remove Nise's Shadow's whip from around his neck, the whip starting to loosen.

"That's it...!" Yosuke choked out, encouraging Nise to go on. Nise's Shadow growled, static starting to surround it.

" **C-Cut the crap! Are you seriously going to acknowledge my existence and just accept me?!** " Nise's Shadow snapped, not buying Nise's words. Nise's Shadow grabbed the girl's head, using her hair to whip Nise. Hitomi flinched and sent Izanagi toward her classmate. Izanagi swiftly flew in front of Nise as Hitomi instructed and got smacked away by the hair. Hitomi let out a muffled cry as she flew backwards just like Izanagi. Yosuke flinched at Hitomi's cry of pain and turned his head towards her direction, seeing his partner skid across the floor, struggling to sit up.

"Sensei!" Berry cried out, running towards the tired girl. Her body was, once again, covered with small bruises and scratches. Was it because she was a girl and that she was weaker? Or could it be that she wasn't 'special' like Igor had claimed she was? Hitomi wondered these things as Izanagi disappeared, tired like herself and unable to battle, her eyelids heavy.

"Narukami-chan!" Nise called out, seeing Hitomi's body trembling on the ground. Yosuke gritted his teeth in anger as he glared a dangerous look to the Shadow.

"You bastard! That does it, you're _finished_!" Yosuke growled, strength coming to him as he slowly began to rip the whip once choking him. But Yosuke was too slow as Nise's Shadow gave him a scornful look. The whip regenerated itself, choking Yosuke while lifting him up in the air.

" **I'm going to rip you to pieces! Scream for me!** " Nise's Shadow laughed.

"Yosuke!" Nise shouted, sweat begging to roll down his face. Berry looked back and forth between Hitomi and Yosuke, panicking.

"Oh no, oh no! Sensei, if we don't do something quick, Yosuke is gonna be a goner!" Berry squeaked, helping the tired girl sit up. Hitomi's eyes scanned the room, trying to find her partner. Spotting the scene, Hitomi's eyelids that were falling shot back up at the pain of her comrade.

"Hanamura...!" Hitomi grunted softly. She had no idea what to do. Izanagi was too tired to come out- she couldn't summon him until he was ready. She needed help, and _fast_. Hitomi closed her eyes and took a deep breath and began searching for the key of her consciousness. The conductors key.

Soon, a room began to form. A very familiar room. It was the Velvet room, where Igor and Margret calmly sat in. Margret opened her eyes and looked forward, out the window across from her.

"You have established a new bond, and have established a new arcana" Margret said, not wasting any time at all. She could feel the urgency of Hitomi's presences alone.

"Margret-san, what can I do to help Hanamura and Satonaka-san?" Hitomi asked, speaking for the first time inside the Velvet room.

"You posses the power to wield multiple persona's" Margret began as she looked over to Hitomi. "It is the 'Wild Card' oh, chosen one." Hitomi blinked in confusion and was about to ask what Margret meant, but before she could she had returned back to the real world. Hitomi's breathing had regulated, time moving slowly.

" **I... Am thou** " a mischievous voice began in her mind. " **Thou... Art I.** " The familiar feeling Hitomi had when awakening Izanagi filled her body, yearning to be released. A card, similar to Jiraiya's, appeared in front of Hitomi in the real world- causing Berry to squeak. Using both of her hands, Hitomi smashed the card. Blue fire surrounded Hitomi as a small creature laughed, flying up in the air in a swirling matter. The small creature flew towards Hitomi, stopping right in front of her and Berry.

" **I'm Pyro Jack! Nice to meet ya, hee ho!** " the small creature greeted with a laugh. The creature had a pumpkin head, a wicked smile with glowing eyes while wearing a dark turquoise witches hat, a matching cape, and a single hand out to hold a lantern. The creature was floating, no body present like Izanagi. Hitomi nodded a hello to Pyro Jack and looked over to Yosuke. Not needing any words, the floating pumpkin laughed and flew towards the struggling boy.

"What?! No fair! This blows, she get's to use two persona's?!" Yosuke choked, seeing the flying pumpkin.

"Take him. Agi!" Hitomi called out, her strength suddenly returning. She quickly put together that it was possible that with the summoning of a new persona, all the damage that Izanagi and Hitomi had taken disappeared. Either way, she couldn't think about it right now- her classmates were in danger.

Pyro Jack lifted up his lantern, fire suddenly scooting out from it and hitting Nise's Shadow. The fire landed on the whip that held Yosuke captive, letting Yosuke fall to the ground. The long hair that had kept Jiraiya captive caught on fire, letting the strands quickly disintegrate and allowing Jiraiya to break free. Hitomi rose to her feet as Yosuke coughed several times, exchanging glances.

"Hanamura!" Hitomi called out with a nod. Knowing what to do, Yosuke smirked and nodded back.

"On it!" Yosuke replied, turning his attention to the Shadow, who had more static than earlier. Yosuke extended his right hand to the Shadow, causing Jiraiya to flick its index at the Shadows. Three small green tornado's began to form around the Shadow, in which Hitomi extended her left hand. Pyro Jack raised his lantern once more, sprouting out three small fireballs that mixed with Jiraiya's tornado's, burning the Shadow. With no way to escape the fiery winds, the Shadow tried to put it out with the chains, closely bringing the girl close to him. But the chains did nothing, letting the Shadow to be engulfed by the flames. With a cry of pain, the Shadow disappeared, returning back to it's human form.

The real Nise staggered up to his feet and walked towards his Shadow, who was floating in the air- very slowly descending downwards. Nise knew the truth, and he was going to accept his other self. Even though he didn't want to at first, if it wasn't for Hitomi's words; he would have never wanted to accept his true feelings. For the sake of the others, Nise was going to do it. For Yukiko and his sake as well.

"It's true... You're me" Nise said with a firm voice. The shadow smiled wearily at Nise, closing it's eyes as a soft blue light surrounded it, disappearing with the light. The instant it did, another figure replaced the shadow. The figure floated in the air, staring at Nise. The figure resembled that of a samurai armed with a double-bladed staff. He was dressed in a yellow and black outfit with white boots and a tall, white helmet. He had long, black hair that reach down to his waist, tied in a low ponytail. The figure then disappeared and turned into a card, slowly descending down to Nise. Nise stared at the card, lifting up his hands to the twirling, glowing card.

"What's this...?" Nise asked, his eyes glued onto the card. Hitomi and Berry walked over to Yosuke, Pyro Jack and Jiraiya standing next to each other.

"It's a persona" Hitomi replied as Yosuke placed his right hand to his hip, a smile forming on his lips.

"So then... This is mine...?" Nise asked.

"That's right" Yosuke confirmed with a smirk.

"This... is my persona" Nise muttered to himself, the card disappearing into him, giving him warmth. Hitomi stared at Nise, glad to know that in the end everything was alright. Nise looked down at his feet, a guilty look on his face.

"...It's true that part of me feels that way" Nise began as Hitomi and Yosuke walked over to him. "I use to wish that... I was a girl back when I was a kid- 'cause my Dad would always tell me to be more manly. I tried to be more manly by taking kung-fu lessons and watching kung-fu movies with my old man, but... Somehow, I always ended up crying and he'd hit me." Nise's hands tightened up into fists, a disgusted look on his face.

"It doesn't really help that I have such a girly face either. Before I met Yukiko, everyone knew me as the 'crybaby' or the 'scaredy cat'" Nise continued, his teeth gritting. "But when I met Yukiko, I was able to not cry and act as the super cool guy in sixth grade. But thanks to that and all those kung-fu movies, I began to think that girls should always be the damsel and guys have to always be the hero. I've tried not to think like that a few years back, but..." Nise looked up and gave an apologetic look to Hitomi, causing her to blink.

"I... Sorry about all that..." Nise began, his cheeks flaring up. "To be perfectly honest, I _was_ a little pissed off at the fact that you were able to use your powers. If you were a guy, I'd probably would have respected you... It's just that, when a girl is able to do something I can't... _I'm_ the one who feels like the defenseless damsel in distress..."

"Well, that makes sense. Seeing as how girly your face is and how you get scared of literally everything" Yosuke joked with a wink, trying to lighten the mood. Nise's face flared red with anger as he glared at Yosuke.

"Shut up, you! I bet you weren't all that comfortable either!" Nise snapped. Hitomi stared at Nise with a blank look, rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, of course he wasn't" Hitomi began, catching the boy's attention. "I can understand why you would feel that way about girls, Satonaka-san. A lot of people do. It's mainly the reason why I still tried to help you, and that I'm not greatly affected by your inner feelings." The boys stared at Hitomi with wide eyes, completely stunned by Hitomi's unaffected personality. Hitomi turned around to face Berry, causing Pyro Jack to disappear.

"Anyway's, let's call it a day. Satonaka-san doesn't look good" Hitomi pointed out. Berry smiled and bowed in agreement. Nise snapped out of his shock and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I-I never said I needed a break! I... can still keep g-going..." Nise growled weakly, when his legs suddenly gave out. Hitomi turned around to face the boys again as Yosuke caught Nise with an irritated look.

"Hey, man- don't think you're some macho dude. Narukami-chan and I need a break too. That fight was exhausting" Yosuke said in an angry tone. Berry stepped forward to Nise with a worried look on her face.

"Don't over do it" Berry said with a caring tone. Hitomi nodded at what Yosuke and Berry were saying. Starting to feel his consciousness staggering, Nise nodded slowly in defeat.

"...Fine..." he muttered in defeat. Hitomi looked over to Yosuke, turning a little to the doorway.

"Can you fight just a little longer as we head back to the entrance?" Hitomi asked, not wanting Yosuke to over do it himself. Yosuke smiled and nodded.

"I'll live" Yosuke replied in a rather playful manner. Hitomi turned around and faced forward, summoning Izanagi who felt rested enough. Izanagi appeared above her and the two of them took the lead. Yosuke and Berry helped Nise walk as Jiraiya flew forward, catching up with Izanagi.

* * *

 ** _Late Afternoon..._**

Hitomi's POV

I sat at a serving table in the Junes food court, the setting sun's rays changing the sky to a beautiful orange and pink. Hanamura was working while Satonaka and I sat together in silence. Satonaka was a little tired to walk home, so I decided to stay with him until he was well enough to leave. I watched Hanamura work, dealing with customers who asked over and over again about what had happened earlier this morning with the weapons.

"He looks kind of busy right now, doesn't he?" I thought out loud, wanting to break the silence between Satonaka and I. Glancing over at Satonaka, I noticed that he was looking down at his lap, possibly not even hearing what I had said. I sighed softly through my nose and looked down at the table, finding something to do. When my eyes caught the sight of the napkin holder, I pulled out a napkin from the napkin and began to fold.

"...I'm so pathetic" Satonaka muttered, casing me to glance up at him as I continued to fold. His eyes were glossy as he stared at his hands, a look of self pity on his face.

"The next time it get's foggy over here, it's very possible that Yukiko could die...!" Satonaka continued, his body beginning to tremble as tears welled up. "And I... I won't be able to do anything...! Useless..." I stopped folding my napkin and looked up at Satonaka, giving him my undivided attention.

"Don't say that, you're far from useless" I began, catching his attention. "If we have to go back there and save Amagi-san, then I know we'll need your help to do it. Now that you have the same power as Hanamura and I, you can fight with us." Satonaka's eyes widened slightly at my words. After a short pause of silence, he looked back down and wiped the tears from his eyes, a weak chuckle escaping.

"...Man, I feel like a jerk now..." Satonaka began, causing me to blink in confusion. "You and Yosuke warned me about that place, and that I shouldn't have gone alone... And yet I did."

"Don't worry about it. You can make up for your mistakes by helping Hanamura and I save Amagi-san" I replied, sitting all the way back in my chair. Satonaka smiled gently at me, a soft pink dusting his cheeks.

"Thank you for giving me a chance..." Satonaka said softly, a little crack in his voice. Satonaka then reached down to his pocket and winked at me.

"As a token of my thanks, I'll show ya somethin'" Satonaka said as he pulled out his iPhone, swiftly unlocking it. I sat up straight in curiosity, leaning forward a little.

"What is it?" I asked as Satonaka quickly pulled up something on his iPhone. He then smiled at his screen and showed it to me.

"A shot of my dog. He's a serious porker and stinks like no one's business!" Satonaka laughed, the picture containing a picture of Satonaka happily hugging a large dog with white fur and brown spots, a matching smile on the dogs face. After a moment, Satonaka pulled his phone back, staring at the picture with gentle eyes.

"But if it wasn't for this guy... Then I may have never met Yukiko. He's the reason why he made our friendship possible" Satonaka explained. I stared at Satonaka for a while as he continued to stare lovingly at the picture of his dog, muttering Amagi's name. The two of them are wonderful friends... It wold break my dead heart if we failed to save Amagi and Satonaka fell into depression. I blinked in realization as I stuffed my hand into my dress pockets, pulling out my own iPhone.

"Hey, may I have your number?" I asked, already creating a new contact.

"H-Huh?" I heard Satonaka stutter. I looked up at him and noticed his face was beet red, his iPhone nearly falling out of his hand.

"For the investigation. If something were to happen that was out of my hands, I'm going to need to call you so that we don't waste any time" I explained. Satonaka blinked in surprise, his red face returning to its normal color. He looked down at his iPhone rather shyly, his thumb gingerly moving.

"Alright... Sure" Satonaka said softly, quickly making the contact. Once he was ready, we used the 'Number exchange' interaction and in five seconds flat, received each other's phone numbers. Satonaka began to fiddle with his iPhone, possibly check on new messages or some sort. Wanting to give Satonaka and his phone some privacy, I turned my attention back to my paper crane.

"You really like to make those cranes, don't you?" I heard Satonaka ask after a moment of silence. I nodded in reply, making the finishing folds.

"It's quite the challenge. You should give it a try, Satonaka-san" I suggested, then blowing on the middle fold before placing the finished paper crane on the middle of the table.

"Nise" Satonaka muttered. I looked up at him in confusion, tilting my head slightly. He smiled gently at me as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"You can call me 'Nise' if you want. Sort of seems reasonable after seeing all that stuff about me, you know?" Satonaka explained, chuckling shyly. I blinked in surprise before nodding, thinking his reasons were alright.

"Alright then... Nise-kun" I replied, causing Nise to tense up, a blush creeping to his face.

"Whoa! Did you make that?!" a high boyish voice asked, catching Nise and my attention. We looked over and saw a group of kids staring at my paper crane in astonishment. I blinked in surprise at the lot of them, wondering where their parents were.

"Ah... Yes, I did" I replied, hesitantly. The group of children exclaimed in awe, rushing forward to the table Nise and I sat in. I fidgeted slightly as sweat formed on my eyebrow, unsure of how to handle the children. I wasn't bad with children, but when there's such a large number- especially with all the recent incidents- I was a bit nervous as to what to do. The last thing I need is a mother or father to suddenly say that I was kidnapping their child and get arrested again. The children all talked at once, trying to grab my attention.

"Whoa! That's so cool!" the same boy from earlier exclaimed.

"It's made straight from a napkin!" another boy exclaimed, baffled by the paper crane.

"It's so cute!" a little girl giggled.

"Can you teach me how to make one?" a little boy asked. Soon, all the children's eyes were on me, sparkling with excitement. Sweat rolled down my jaw as I blinked nervously at them.

"Uh... Alright then" I replied with a nod, earning a cheer from the children. Everyone gathered around the table grabbed a napkin, even Nise, as they looked at me patiently for the first instruction. I pulled out my own napkin, a bit concerned if it was okay to use so many, and placed my napkin down in front of me.

"You want to start it out like this..." I began, the children and Nise obediently following my example. This was going to take a while...


	7. Shadow Yukiko Amagi and a past friend

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair. This is...

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" the man with the long nose, known as Igor, greeted. Hitomi silently sighed in her head, nodding hello. After using the contractors key for the first time yesterday, she had hoped to have entered the room the same way by her own will. Perhaps Igor is the one who summons her after all and she has no real say.

"You did a splendid job utilizing your power of the wild card" the woman next to Igor, known as Margaret, began; looking over to Hitomi. "Quite impressive. Glad to know my faith in you has not been misplaced." Despite Margaret's kind words, her face was covered with a blank expression, much like Hitomi's. A card, filled strange designs, descended in front of Margret; dissolving into her old book on her lap.

"In due time, I have no doubt that you will master the power of yet another newly formed bond. The Chariot Arcana" Margret said, almost sounding like a compliment. The old book glowed light blue, as if becoming one with the card, and Margret opened it up. There, in the middle of the book was a moving picture of Hitomi and Nise, talking while Nise showed the picture of his dog on his iPhone.

"I must admit" Margaret began as she looked over to Hitomi. "I'm rather curious as too how this power will shape your future." Margret closed the book, a serious look on her face.

"You seem to be troubled with questions. Feel free to ask them, but keep them brief. You will awaken soon, in the real world" Margret said curtly, causing Hitomi to flinch. It was true, Hitomi was rather curious about some things, and she wanted to ask them.

"If you don't mind" Hitomi began, straightening up. Her voice wasn't the same when she usually spoke- it seemed to have an echo. It was a bit startling, but Hitomi quickly shook it off. This was the Velvet Room- anything can happen. "What are Shadows?" Igor closed his eyes as if in deep thought. He let out a small chuckle, looking up at Hitomi with his grin widening.

"Wouldn't it be best to know from that small creature whom has helped you thus far?" Igor asked, as if teasing Hitomi. Hitomi stared at Igor for a moment before lowering her head slightly, her gray eyes locked with his small ones. This was her unconscious way of intimidating people, her eyes gaining a certain glare that made them seem so much more powerful than normal.

"Berry doesn't know enough about that other world. If you don't want to give me the full answer, then at least tell me a little. Please" Hitomi said firmly, causing Igor to chuckle.

"Shadows are human fears, doubts, and vicious impulses made manifest. They are what humans cannot accept on their own" Igor explained. "As you have already gathered, those who are present in the Midnight Channel have their fears summoned up into a single large Shadow. That Shadow will begin taunting their owner with their very existence until the target breaks down and releases their full power which is caused by the fear and denial of the Shadow's existence." Hitomi thought for a moment at the information provided before looking back at Igor.

"So then, Personas are Shadows that have been accepted and conquered by their owner?" Hitomi asked, wanting to know if her conclusion was correct.

"Precisely. Think of them as a façade of determination one wears to face various difficulties in life" Igor explained. Hitomi nodded slowly, taking in the new information given to her. Hitomi closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath through her nose. She had many more swirling questions in her mind, but seeing the way that Igor had answered her first one told Hitomi that she'll have to find the answer for herself. Margaret refocused her irritancy towards Hitomi.

"That will be enough questions for now. You seem to be awakening, and it is important that you focus on your schoolwork as well as your journey" Margret said with a seething glare, causing Hitomi to flinch. Hitomi nodded obediently, causing Margret to smile for the first time.

"Until then, I shall enjoy following your journey" Margret said as she and Igor returned to their original positions. Hitomi's consciousness began to fade as the room slowly began to be engulfed by darkness.

* * *

 ** _Monday, April 18th_**

Hitomi's POV

Hanamura and I yawned simultaneously- sitting in our seats, facing him- as Hanamura's head plopping down to his desk while I covered my mouth.

"Man, six days... We went into that world six times already with no breaks in between... I'm beat" Hanamura muttered drowsily, struggling to keep his eyelids open. I pressed my lips together for a moment, letting out a small sigh as Hanamura held up his head with his left hand, eyes fully open.

"I wonder how Nise's doing..." Hanamura thought out loud, wanting to make conversation. I looked over to the empty seat next to me, noticing that Nise hadn't arrived to school yet.

"... I'm sure he'll be fine. Despite everything that happened yesterday, I'm sure he'll be back to his usual self" I reassured Hanamura, looking back at him. Hanamura blinked in surprise at my words before smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, he is a kung-fu otaku for a reason. They fall, then get right back up, right?" Hanamura joked. I nodded, agreeing with him. He then blink with a recalling look as he rested his left hand on top of his desk.

"Oh yeah! Thanks for taking care of those kids yesterday! You really made work easier for me" Hanamura chirped, his smiling widening. I blinked at him in surprise before rubbing the back of my head, my cheeks feeling lightly heated.

"Ah... It's fine" I began, shyly. "But, is it normal to have all those children unattended like that? With the recent incidents spreading across Inaba, I would have thought that they'd all be inside." It still bothered me that so many children were wandering about a super store like Junes like that. The killer could have kidnapped one of them and through them into the television! Hanamura smiled nervously, a weak chuckle escaping.

"Ah, well... It's a small town. I guess parents just think that nothing bad will happen at a store like Junes?" Hanamura guessed, unsure himself. I let out a huffed, thinking those parents to be rather stupid.

"Yo, mornin' you two" a familiar voice greeted, causing Hanamura and I to look over in its direction. It was Nise, walking towards us, smiling brightly as usual.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" I asked, nodding at him. Nise nodded with a bigger smile on his face. The smile seemed... almost relaxing.

"Yep! I was out _cold_ until this morning. Never felt more refreshed in my life!" Nise chirped, flexing his arms with a goofy expression. I stared at him as Hanamura laughed a little. After a few more flexing, Nise stopped and his expression turned more serious.

"Anyways, what's most important right now is to rescue Yukiko. I don't want her to stay in that world any longer than she really has too. I suggest that we go today after school" Nise suggested firmly, his eyes glowing with determination. Hanamura let out a groan, catching Nise and my attention.

"Seriously? _Today_? Man, I was hoping that we'd get a break from that world!" Hanamura complained, resting his chin on his desk while his arms stretched all the way out, his hands hanging lazily. Nise punched Hanamura's head slightly, earning a small yelp.

"Don't complain! If you're really that tired, I'll just save Yukiko myself!" Nise growled. I flinched and gave Nise a sharp look as Hanamura rubbed his head.

"You won't be going in that world by yourself" I began. "It's way too dangerous for any one of us to enter that world alone." Hanamura nodded as he sat up.

"Yeah, Narukami-chan's right" Hanamura agreed. "Let's all make a promise that nobody goes in alone. If we don't work together, we won't be able to solve the case _or_ save Yukiko." Hanamura and I turned our attention to Nise, who was staring at us with a surprised look on his face. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Fine, fine; I promise. It was just a joke anyway" Nise muttered. I blinked at him in surprise.

"A joke? Well then, you need to work on them" I suggested, causing Hanamura to stifle a laugh as a bead of sweat rolled down Nise's jaw. Soon, the school bell rang, telling the students that it was time for class to start.

* * *

 ** _Morning..._**

"Helloooo and good morninggggg, all!" a male teacher wearing a red track suit cheered, a wide smile on his face. I blinked in surprise at the teacher, a little surprised by his energy.

"My name is Mr. Kondo, your P.E. teacher!" the teacher introduced. "But since no one at this school teaches English, I'll be doubling up my roles!" I took note of this as I switched my math notebook to my English one. The entire classroom was silent, as a few students like myself, shuffled our things a little for note taking.

"...Don't be so disappointed," Kondo said reassuringly. "In fact, I've spent some time overseas! One week of vacation time, to be exact! But that's more than enough to teach a class! Hahaha!" I blinked nervously at the energetic teacher, wondering if this will go well.

"We'll start with the basics of the basics; the English alphabet!" Kondo began as he looked around the classroom. "It starts with A, then B, then C, and then... twenty-three more! Maybe that was a little too basic? Hahaha! All right! I'll give you an alphabet-related pop quiz, then! Let's see... Narukami-chan!" I blinked in surprise and stood up at the sound of my name.

"The word 'alphabet' comes from the words 'alpha' and what other one?" Kondo asked, his smile remaining glued to his face.

"Beta" I replied bluntly. I knew a little bit more English than a normal student thanks to Senpai. He taught me that once- so I made sure to never forget it.

"Good! That's correct!" Kondo praised cheerfully, letting me take a seat for notes. "It comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. By the way, any set of western European characters in a specific order is called an alphabet. In Japan, when we say 'alphabet' we're talking about the English alphabet, but it doesn't always mean the English one!" I took swift notes in details, writing enough information in my notebook.

* * *

 ** _Afternoon..._**

I put on my glasses as Hanamura groaned in pain, rolling onto his stomach. Hanamura, Nise, and I all went straight for Junes the moment school got out. Before entering the television however, Nise had suggested putting our bags down somewhere so that we wouldn't have any extra weight weighing us down. The first time we entered, we all actually went home first because Nise didn't want to carry all his textbooks. The second time, I left my bag with Nise, and last time- we didn't have our bags to worry about. Hanamura suggested that we leave them behind the counter, since there are rarely any cashiers around to watch the department. I was a bit nervous, but I trusted that everything inside my bag would still be there and perfectly fine.

"Ugh... Seriously, we need to work on our landing..." Hanamura groaned. I turned around to face Hanamura, blinking at him.

"You just need to get your legs ready when your falling" I explained to him as he sat up. Nise nodded in agreement as he helped Hanamura up.

"You'll get used to it" Nise said with a bored look, earning a growl from Hanamura. I stared at Hanamura, understanding why he couldn't help but tense up. The fall from the television in the Junes electronic department to this world isn't all that long, so you need to be quick.

"Ah, Sensei and the other guys!" a very familiar, high pitched voice cheered. Berry skipped towards me and the others.

"The 'other guys'? First you call her 'Sensei' then don't show us any respect?" Hanamura muttered as he and Nise walked and stood on both sides of me. Berry shrugged in reply.

"Sorry, I was just excited..." Berry apologized with a bored look, causing Hanamura to grit his teeth. Berry then looked at Nise and I and smiled brightly, pulling out something from behind her.

"Anyways, this is for you Nise-kun!" Berry chirped as she handed him a pair of yellow glasses.

"What the heck?! You use 'kun' with Nise and not me?!" Hanamura barked, sounding insulted.

"Hmph! Why should I show you any respect, Pervs-ke!" Berry huffed, causing Hanamura to growl loudly like an animal. The two was a rather interesting pair, huh? I looked back over at Nise who had an eyebrow raised at the glasses and examining their design.

"Wait, why didn't you whip those out the other day if you had them?" Hanamura asked as he looked suspiciously at Berry. Berry stomped her feet as she growled at Hanamura.

"I made them while you were away! You didn't tell me he was coming and too many things happened! It was all so sadden—I mean, sudden!" Berry explained, correcting herself in the middle. I suddenly heard Nise exclaim, catching our attention. He was wearing the glasses while frantically looking around, baffled at the drastic changes of vision.

"Whoa, this is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist!" Nise exclaimed. He looked over at Berry with a wide smile. "Hey thanks a lot, bear! You don't mind if I keep these, right?" Berry smiled back and bowed.

"Of course! I made them just for you! Oh, and my name's Berry!" Berry chirped with a giggle. Nise nodded a thanks, taking a mental note of Berry's name. Hanamura walked forward and stood behind Berry, catching our attention.

"This is just so wrong... Well, now that that's done and over with" Hanamura began with an exhausted sigh. He glanced over at Nise with a nervous look before glancing over at me. He glanced back over to Nise, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh... Well- Hm..." I blinked in confusion as I tilted my head slightly.

"What is it, Hanamura?" I asked. Hanamura closed his eyes as he rubbed the back of his head slower. He was trying to find the words for something, and it seems that it's a little hard to say it. After a moment of silence, Hanamura sighed and looked over at me.

"Narukami-chan, would you mind being our leader?" Hanamura asked curtly, earning a soft gasp from Nise. I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's sudden request.

"Look, I-I'm not all that cool with a girl taking charge" Hanamura began, looking slightly nervous. "But, well, I'm more of the advisor type than anything—an ideas man, not an executive. You're good at making decisions, and to be fair, you're already doing a good job at being a leader." Hanamura quickly looked over to Nise and put up his right hand, stopping Nise from exploding what ever anger Hanamura thought he had.

"Now dude, before you blow up in my face-" Hanamura began. He suddenly stopped, noticing how calm Nise was. Nise crossed his arms over his chest, an eyebrow raised.

"What? You think that after accepting my hidden feelings, I'm just gonna go against _everything_ women do? I've tried to stopped thinking like that, remember?" Nise pointed out, a little irritated. He looked over to me, an unreadable expression on his face.

"...I _am_ a little pissed at the thought of a girl orderin' me around" Nise began, causing me to tense up. A small smile slowly crept to his face. "But, I think in this case, I'm okay with it. I'd certainly feel more comfortable if Narukami-chan called the shots than if Yosuke did. And there's no way I can do it- I'd probably end up hiding behind one of you guys or running away." I blinked in surprise at Nise's words, Berry raising her paws in the hair.

"If Sensei's the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night!" Berry cheered, earning an annoyed stare from Hanamura. I felt my face hear up a little as I looked down.

"...Alright then. If everyone's alright with me" I muttered shyly. This was one thing I was most certainly not expecting. After hearing Nise's inner thought's, I was sure that they would have wanted Hanamura or Nise be the leader; not me- the woman. To be unanimously appointed as team leader like this... It was certainly something I didn't expect in a life time. I must admit, I was a little flattered by my friends trust. I looked up at them and nodded.

"Let's go and save Amagi-san" I said with a serious tone, earning a smile and nods from the others. Berry cheered as she began to lead the way over to the Amagi's castle.

* * *

The moment that Nise, Hanamura, Berry, and I entered the castle; Nise was the first to summon his persona. He jogged forward a little, wanting some space as the familiar blue light surrounded him.

"Persona!" Nise shouted as he did a 360 kick, his card shattering with the sound effect. Nise's persona slowly stood up from behind him, as if being awoken by a nap, the blue light and fire swirling around it. Once the blue flames disappeared, Shadows began to fly our way- as if they were waiting for us.

"Let's go, Tomoe!" Nise shouted, causing his persona to fly forward. Tomoe must be his name. Tomoe kicked a Shadow straight in the face, the Shadow instantly turning to black mist at the impact. The other Shadows started to fly towards Tomoe, but they were too slow. Tomoe did a 360, much like Nise did when summoning him, and killed the remaining Shadows.

"Sweet, movin' on!" Nise chuckled with a sly tone, instantly running ahead once the coast was clear. Hanamura, Berry, and I ran after him; not too far behind him.

"Nise-kun is really on fire, isn't he?" Berry said out loud, as if praising him.

"Hey, listen Nise! You're just starting to gain your strength, so don't overdo it!" Hanamura warned.

"Where are you, Yukiko?!" Nise shouted, ignoring Hanamura's warning, as he made a left at a corner.

"He just blew me off...!" Hanamura exclaimed softly, a little shocked. I sped up a little to catch up to Nise, noticing a serious look on his face.

"Hanamura's right, Nise-kun! Don't overdo it!" I called out. Nise looked over his shoulder, a smirk on his face.

"I'm fine! This is nothin'!" Nise reassured before looking forward again. I sighed softly, a slightly worried look on my face.

After running endlessly up a few more floors, Tomoe slaying every Shadow in sight, not needing Izanagi or Jiraiya's help; we reached a room that was slightly more elegant than the past ones. Besides from our pants and footsteps with the occasional strange cries of Shadows, nothing could be heard. This place was so quite... It was a little nerve wracking.

As Nise and I almost reached the top of the stairs, the room suddenly turned dark, causing me to nearly fall. Thankfully, I was able to steady myself, avoiding certain pain from falling down a flight of stairs.

"What the...?!" Nise exclaimed, stopping in front of me.

"It's inky, midnight, jet black dark in here!" Berry squeaked, causing me to look over my shoulder. Hanamura and Berry were a few steps behind me, confused like Nise and I were about the sudden changed atmosphere. But unlike what Berry had said about the room being dark, I found it to be more _purple_ than black.

Suddenly, two spot lights turned one, wondering the room as if looking for someone. When the lights flashed over Hanamura, Berry, and I; we covered our eyes at the brightness of them. We slowly looked forward to the top of the stairs, noticing that they weren't stopping. The sound of drums pounding rapidly to draw suspense echoed into the room as I noticed an outlined figure standing at the very top. The lights stopped on the figure, the drums stopping, as the figure gasped. I flinched, surprised to see Amagi herself.

"Yukiko!" Nise shouted as he was about to run towards her. I grabbed his hand, causing him to stop and looked over to me. I shook my head, my eyes locked on 'Amagi'. This wasn't Amagi... Not the one that Nise had learned so much about and not the one that I had taken observation on. 'Amagi' was dressed in the same inappropriate ball gown that she was wearing on the Midnight Channel, and we already know that that wasn't her. But her Shadow.

"That's not who you think it is" I muttered, causing Nise to flinch. I continued to hold his hand as he turned his attention to Amagi's Shadow, who began to laugh like a mistress. Smooth jazz like music began to play as Amagi's Shadow placed a hand on her cheek.

" **What's this, special guests? I wonder how they'll play into all this! Now _this_ is a party!** " Amagi's Shadow giggled, holding her pink microphone with both hands.

" **It's time for~** " Amagi's Shadow began, trying to create tension. She extended out her right hand, winking at us. " **Our next segment~!** " Suddenly, a sign magically appeared, 'Princess Yukiko's Hunt For Her Prince Charming' written in gold letters. Just like on the midnight channel, this seemed to be some sort of low budget television show. There was a sudden round of applause, cheering and whistling along with it.

"Wh-What the hell is this? Was that... A title screen?" I heard Hanamura exclaim in confusion.

"Alright, who are you?!" Nise asked, his anger _almost_ showing in his tone. Amagi's Shadow giggled, looking unaffected by Nise's words.

" **How could you ask me that?** " Amagi's Shadow asked, as if hearing a joke and was playing along. " **I am Yukiko! And Yukiko is _me_.** " Nise tensed up in anger, almost charging at her when I pulled him back a little.

"No you're not!" Nise shouted, his teeth audibly gritting. "I want the _real_ Yukiko, **NOW**!" I began to hear disembodied voices mumbling incoherently, almost sounding agitated. I looked over my shoulder in confusion. Berry squeaked as she squirmed nervously.

"The Shadows are getting agitated!" Berry squeaked, moving closer to Hanamura. I turned my attention back over to Amagi's Shadow, locking eyes with her hallow, glowing, yellow eyes.

" **Well, I'm off again!** " Amagi's Shadow exclaimed. " **Heehee! You'd better be waiting with bells on, my dear Prince!** " Without even a simple goodbye, Amagi's Shadow turned and hurried on ahead, giggling. Nise flinched and reached out his free hand.

"Hey, hold it! Wait!" Nise called out, his tone fully angry now. I let go of Nise's hand as the two of us began to run up the remaining steps after Amagi's Shadow. As we reached the top, Shadows began to form, blocking our way. The same levitating, sphere shaped Shadows with their tongues out appeared, along with a new Shadow that resembled a crow; holding a lantern in it's tallen. Nise and I stopped as Hanamura and Berry caught up to us. Nise gritted his teeth as he got down in a fighting position, his left leg out while his fists stayed close to his body.

"Get out of my way, or I'll deal with you myself!" Nise shouted. Tomoe flew forward, starting to take down some of the Shadows. I turned around slightly, my eyes locking with Hanamura's. Without saying anything, Hanamura smirked and nodded, knowing exactly what to do. I turned forward again and closed my eyes, focusing on summoning Izanagi. I opened my eyes and saw my tarot card in front of me.

"Persona!" I called out as I clasped my hands onto the card over my heart. Izanagi appeared over me, his eyes gleaming blue as he began to target some of the Shadows. I pointed over at the Shadows, causing Izanagi to fly forward to aid Tomoe.

"Jiraiya!" I heard Hanamura call out, Jiraiya shortly flying forward to the bird like Shadows. Jiraiya flicked it's index finger at shadows, creating a green colored tornado. The tornado got them, but it only made the birds fly higher, swiftly swooping down and landing an attack on Jiraiya.

"Crap... Hey, a little help here!" Hanamura exclaimed, a sound of pain in his voice. Nise and I dodged a Shadow that flew towards us, causing me to spin my attention over to Jiraiya. I extended my left hand, staring intently at the birds that Jiraiya was having troubles with.

"Izanagi!" I muttered. Izanagi flinched and turned his attention to the birds. Twirling his nagatana, he extended his left hand out towards them. Heat fills my body and a there's a tingling sensation as an electricity feeling on my skin power builds up inside me, quickly being realized as a lightning bolt strikes down on the birds. They instantly turned into mist at the impact.

"Hanamura, help Nise-kun defeat those sphere Shadows! I'll take care of the birds" I instructed. Hanamura nodded and Jiraiya headed towards the Shadows that Tomoe fought. With the help of Jiraiya, and the lightening that Izanagi shouted out, the four of us were able to defeat all the Shadows in the room.

"Alright, let's go!" Nise commanded, instantly running at his own words. Hanamura, Berry, and I ran after him; staying close as he ran.

"So like... Do you think that was...?" Hanamura asked in between pants, catching my attention.

"Yep, definitely!" Berry began. I flinched at the sound of a Shadow's cry, looking upward. More Shadows were coming our way, causing Izanagi to fly upwards. Hanamura noticed my gaze and sent Jiraiya up as well to help Izanagi.

"That was the girls other's self for sure!" Berry continued as the three of us made a turn.

"I knew it! I thought something seemed off when I saw her on the Midnight Channel!" Hanamura said as he took his hand out towards a Shadow, causing Jiraiya to use his tornado move, killing the shadow.

"Well, duh! There was no way Yukiko could do something like 'score a hot stud'!" Nise shouted, an angry vain throbbing on the back of his head.

"'Score a hot stud'?" Berry echoed, a confused look on her face. "What would she want to hunt horses for?" I nodded slightly, understanding her confusion. When I saw Amagi on the show, I thought that she was talking about diamonds. But then she talked about a 'harem', and that's when I knew she was talking about people. And then the title screen showed up, and that's when I _finally_ realized what she was doing.

"I'll explain later!" Hanamura shouted in annoyance, his eyebrow twitching.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, elsewhere..._**

3rd POV

"Come on, why not?" a boy with short brown hair, wearing circular glasses asked the heiress of the Amagi Inn. Yukiko looked down, avoiding the eyes of the two boys who were trying to hang out with her.

"We just want to have some good, clean fun" the boy began. "Some shopping, or some karaoke? That kind of stuff." Yukiko looked down at her feet shyly, staring at her indoor slippers.

"I can't... I'm too busy" Yukiko said softly. The other boy raised an eyebrow at the black haired girl's excuse.

"Well, when aren't you busy?" he asked, as if making a joke.

"Hey, you idiots!" a familiar voice shouted, drawing attention of the other students in the classroom along with the boys pestering Yukiko. It was Nise, an irritated look on his face.

"When a girl tells you to buzz off, you buzz off! Can't you see how annoying you are to Yukiko?!" Nise growled, standing in front of Yukiko, pushing the guys away from her slightly. Yukiko stepped behind Nise for protection, shyly hiding behind him.

"Yo, Nise-san, relax! We were just asking her to hang out with us!" the boy with glasses explained. Nise glared at them, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah well, she doesn't want to hang out. You're being a pain, so scram" Nise said coldly, causing the boys to shiver. With an annoyed scoff, the two boys walked away. Nise sighed in annoyance once they left, placing his hands on his hips.

"Sheesh, this generation doesn't know it's manners anymore..." Nise muttered, hearing the two boys bad mouth Nise, saying _he_ was the one being annoying. Upon hearing their words, Nise's strong demeanor vanished as he frowned sadly, his eyes starting to glisten with tears. Yukiko smiled a little and touched Nise's back, the only way she found that could stop him from crying and embarrassing himself.

"Thanks a lot for that, Nise" Yukiko said softly. Nise blinked in surprise and turned around, rubbing his eyes as a smile formed on his face.

"Hey, it's no big deal. I could tell that they were annoyin' you, so I had to step in" Nise explained with a sniff. He tied his hands behind his head, smiling with his eyes closed.

"I just stormed your castle, milady" Nise chirped. Yukiko began to giggle, trying to hold in her laughter by covering her mouth.

"You what? I don't think that's the expression you wanted! That's so you!" Yukiko giggled, causing Nise to open his eyes in surprise. He slowly untied his hands, shoving them into his jacket's pocket.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Nise asked, raising an eyebrow. He personally thought that his expression was pretty clever. Knowing that Yukiko wasn't going to stop giggling anytime soon, Nise sighed with a weary smile on his face.

"Whatever" Nise chuckled softly. Yukiko eventually managed to stop giggling as she stared at Nise's weary smile.

"Thank you so much, Nise" Yukiko said suddenly, causing Nise to blink in surprise.

"Whoa, that was a little random wasn't it?" Nise asked, while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Yukiko smiled gently at him and shook her head in disagreement.

"It's for all that you've done..." Yukiko began. "You're not like the other boys... Whenever I need you too, you're always there to come to my rescue. Without fail. Thank you..."

* * *

Yukiko had a blissful smile on her face, sprawled onto the red carpeted floor. She was asleep, dreaming peacefully about her time with Nise before Yosuke or Hitomi came to their school. She would have remained asleep, but a voice woke her up.

" **Nise is so nice... Nise can do** ** _anything_** " a distorted voice sneered.

Slowly, Yukiko began to open her eyes. Everything was hazy to her, but she could hear just fine.

" **Nise is always by my side. Nise will** ** _always_** **be there to protect me.** "

At this point, Yukiko was fully conscious. She tried to look at her surroundings to figure out her location, but thick, red fog obscured her vision. She could only make out the red carpet she sat on and the flight of stairs behind her.

" **Nise will** ** _always_** **save me...** "

"Who's there?" Yukiko finally spoke, her voice shaking a little. A loud noise from behind made Yukiko turn her head. A birdcage was rolling down the flight of stairs. It was moving towards her direction and stopped rolling once it reached her side. It was empty and didn't seem important, but to Yukiko, it held memories... Fond memories.

"Hey... That's my..." Yukiko began, the memories from her first year of high school returning to her. It had only been a couple of months after entering her first year in high school. On one particular day after school, Yukiko had walked home alone. Along the way, she had come across an abandoned baby bird. It had looked so pitiful, being too young to do anything but cry.

Yukiko became the owner of a baby bird that day. It was a decision that made the following days after much more difficult for her, but Yukiko didn't mind. For all it was worth, she finally had someone she could relate to, even if it was just a bird.

Her family's inn had become an even bigger part of her life and it showed. The inn was her reason to turn down Nise's offers to do something after school, which was rare. But Yukiko was able to suffice. The baby bird had given Yukiko a reason to bear with everything that came with helping out at the inn. Never before had she found smiling to be something so simple and easy. It was almost as if all her problems had vanished.

"You're just I am... We can't live anywhere but here..." Yukiko would coo to her little friend. It was a sad thing to say, but it made Yukiko smile each time she thought that; as she cared for her bird. She had raised it from a baby with pulpy feathers, and seen it grow into a beautiful adult with a plumage that reminded her of fire. Beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow. At least, that's what she thought.

"You forgot to lock the cage when you put him back?" a familiar voice asked. Yukiko remembered that day clearly. One of the staff members, named Kasai who was like a second mother to Yukiko, noticed her shocked expression as she stared into her bedroom. There were a few times when Yukiko had accidentally forgotten to lock the cage's door. But up until that day, the bird had never flew away. It would wait patiently for Yukiko, as if it hadn't even noticed the opened door.

"The way you cared for that little bird Yuki... You must be heartbroken" Kasai would mutter, a sympathetic look in her eyes. Yukiko was never able to understand why the bird had left. Why the little creature she had cared for so painstakingly decided to leave. She had sacrificed her time with Nise for the little creature. It had unconsciously affected her behavior for days, and she didn't even noticed. Not until...

"So that means... You're out, huh?" Nise asked with a slightly disappointed look, his hands tied behind his head. Yukiko looked down at her shows in guilt. Noticing his friends expression, Nise smiled at her, patting her head.

"Hey, no need to feel bad! We can always eat grub next time!" Nise laughed, trying to make his friend cheer up. Yukiko looked up at her cheerful friend, feeling more guilt at the words 'next time'.

"Look, I'm really sorry" Yukiko began. "I know I keep turning you down when you ask..." Nise laughed waving his hands, telling her that he wasn't upset.

"Hey, I said it's fine, right? It's the busy season at the inn right now. It's not your fault at all" Nise said with a smile. Yukiko looked down at her shoes again.

"I'm sorry" Yukiko whispered. Nise smiled wearily as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Stop apologizing already! You'll make me feel bad!" Nise said teasingly. After a small chuckle from him, Nise looked at Yukiko with a worried expression.

"Hey, by the way... Is everything alright with you? You've been acting kinda down lately" Nise pointed out, causing Yukiko to flinch. An image of the deserted bird cage burned into her mind, almost making tears form. Yukiko pressed her lips together, pushing the image and tears back.

"No... It's nothing" Yukiko said weakly. Nise stared at Yukiko, unconvinced by her words.

"You know Yukiko, it's alright" Nise began, looking away as he stuffed his hands into his jacket.

"What is?" Yukiko asked, a small smile on her face.

"...Look, you'll own and run that inn one day. That's just the way it is, and that's cool" Nise continued slowly, the words tasting like poison for him. He shook the poison away and smiled brightly at his friend. "But you don't need to over work yourself. If you ever need someone to help out at times, just ask me 'kay? I'd be happy to help!"

It was then that... Yukiko finally realized why she had been so upset. She wasn't sad that her bird had flew away. She felt... At the very least... Betrayed. No, she felt...

"That's just the way... It is" Yukiko echoed, her eyes stinging by the threatening tears she blinked back.

" **That's when I gave up** ** _all_** **hope** " a distorted voice whined, catching Yukiko's attention.

"How did you...?! Who are you? Come out and show yourself!" Yukiko called out, crawling on her hands and knees in a circle, trying to see through the red fog. Because of the pink kimono Yukiko as wearing, it was rather hard for her to move. A soft giggle escaped from behind her, causing Yukiko to turn around, facing the stairs she was in front of.

" **You want to see** ** _me_** **? See who** ** _I_** **am? What** ** _I_** **look like?** " the distorted voice asked. A figure slowly walked forward, revealing herself, causing Yukiko to gasp.

" **Who** ** _I_** **am... Is** ** _you_** " Yukiko's shadow sneered.

* * *

Hitomi's POV

"Sensei! This smell!" Berry squeaked, tugging my arm as I ran behind Nise. "It's that girl! She's beyond that door over there!" Nise tensed up at Berry's words.

"Are you sure?!" Nise asked, turning his attention to the door up ahead. Before Berry could confirm it, Nise began to sprint towards the door.

"YUKIKO!" Nise shouted as he jumped up, extending his left foot. Hanamura and I were catching up to him, a dumbstruck look on Hanamura's face; amazed at how strong Nise's kick was as the doors flashed opened. Nise tightened up into a ball, doing a few flips before landing on his feet; standing perfectly straight as if he had walked in. Hanamura and I stopped about a feet or so behind him, Hanamura's eyes wide with surprise.

"Damn, has he been taking classes?!" Hanamura asked softly in amazement. I shrugged in reply as I saw the real Amagi stand up from the bottom of a stairway.

"Nise!" Amagi called out, a nervous look on her face. She was sitting at the bottom of a stairway, a small copper colored cage next to her, laying on it's side. Distorted laughter caught everyone's attention, causing us to look up at the top of the stairway. There I saw Amagi's Shadow, standing in front of a throne; patiently.

" **What's this? Two Princes are here to see me?! My my, what** ** _ever_** **shall I do?** " Amagi's Shadow giggled.

" **Are you surprised guests who came in late?** " Amagi's Shadow asked, taking a few steps forward. " **Awwwww... I wish I'd gotten a better look at you.** "

"I'm feeling some serious tension in the air here...!" Hanamura muttered, his voice a little shaky with nervousness.

" **Why don't** ** _you_** **and** ** _I_** **go somewhere else...?** " Amagi's Shadow began in a seductive voice. " **A land far, far away, where no one knows me. If you're my Prince Charming, you'd take me there, won't you? C'mon... pretty please?** " Nise blushed a little bit as he blinked in confusion.

"W-Wait... 'Prince Charming'?" Nise asked. "You think of me as... A prince?" Hanamura gave Nise a mischievous look as he raised his eyebrows up and down, earning an embarrassed glare from Nise. Amagi's Shadow giggled happily.

" **Nise** " Amagi's Shadow giggled, causing Nise to freeze. " **Come on, you're obviously my Prince Charming! You** ** _always_** **lead the way! You make a** ** _brave_** **and** ** _magnificent_** **Prince!** " Suddenly, Amagi's Shadow's expression turned sour in disgust and disappointment, causing Nise to flinch.

" **Or at least... You** ** _did_** " Amagi's Shadow said in disgust.

"I... 'Did'?" Nise asked, raising an eyebrow as he began to slowly walked forward.

" **See, I'm** ** _through_** **with you now!** " Amagi's Shadow said with a smirk. Suddenly, the sound of chains caught our attention. I looked up, noticing a chandler falling directly above Nise. Nise gasped at the chandelier, covering his head with his hands as Berry screamed for Nise's safety. I reached out to him, closing my eyes. I had the key... And I need your assistance- Margret!

Soon, a room began to form. A very familiar room. It was the Velvet room, where Igor and Margret calmly sat in. Margret opened her eyes and looked over at me, calmly taking note of my sudden presence.

"My dear guest, thanks entirely to this new bond you have forged; you have now awakened the power of Chariot Arcana" Margret said, not wasting any time at all.

"It's persona is noted by it's strength" Margret explained. I nodded, feeling a rather aggressive power rushing in me. I opened my eyes, instantly being greeted by a blinding blue light.

" **I am thou** " a deep voice began. " **Thou art I.** " The familiar feeling I had when awakening my other persona's filled my body, yearning to be released. A card, similar to Tomoe's, appeared in front of me causing me to draw my hands to it.

" **I am Ara Mitama, the stalwart harbinger of thy victory** " the deep voice introduced, letting out a roar.

Feeling that roar resonate inside me, I called out "Ara Mitama!" using both of hands to smash the card. Blue fire surrounded me as a small red tear drop screamed in a deep voice, flying towards Nise just before the chandelier hit him. At the impact of the chandelier, a blue light, acting as a force field, appareled, protecting Nise. I felt the force of the chandelier drilling into me, causing my legs to tremble.

After a hard battle with the chandelier, Ara Mitama pushed the chandelier away towards Amagi's shadow. But the throw was to weak and almost hit the real Amagi instead. Slowly, Ara Mitama began to float down to the ground, my legs giving out as well.

"Narukami-chan!" Hanamura said with a worried tone as he knelt down next to me, holding onto my shoulders. I struggled to breath, gripping onto my uniform top, trembling.

" **When it comes down to it, Nise's just not good enough,** **he let me down** " Amagi's shadow continued, " **He won't take me away. He won't** ** _save_** **me!** "

"Stop it already! That's enough...!" the real Amagi cried out weakly, as she stood up. The chandelier that Ara Mitama had thrown slowly rose up from the ground, and flew swung us, almost hitting Amagi. Berry let out a scream as she and Nise got out of the way. I tensed up at the incoming chandelier, unable to move. Jiraiya suddenly flew in front of me, trying to swing the chandelier away. But Jiraiya alone couldn't do it, and instead was swept away, smashing into the wall with the chandelier pinning him. Hanamura grunted as he tightened his grip on my shoulders.

"Hanamura, you need to withdraw him" I grunted. Hanamura wrapped one arm around his stomach in pain where Jiraiya was being pinned, sweat rolling down his face.

"I... Can't, he's too... Far away...!" Hanamura choked, unable to breath. I looked forward and brought both my hands in front of my chest. Ara Mitama disappeared, turning into his card and floated up in to the air.

"Izanagi" I called out softly, clasping my hands together. The card smashed and Izanagi appeared. At the sight of Jiraiya being pinned, Izanagi instantly flew towards him, trying to unpin Jiraiya. No longer feeling pain, I stood up and turned around to see how Izanagi was doing. Izanagi was using his nagatana to try and remove the chandelier, but was having slight trouble.

"Yosuke! Narukami-chan!" I heard Nise call out, catching my attention.

" **'Historical Inn'? 'Inn Keeper Training'?** " Amagi's shadow mocked. She scrunched up her nose as she glared at the real Amagi. " **I'm absolutely** ** _sick_** **of being stuck there!** " Nise gritted his teeth as he began to summon Tomoe, glaring at the shadow.

"Damn it all!" Nise shouted, kicking his arcana causing Tomoe to appear above him. The carpet Nise was standing on suddenly turned liquid like, capturing Nise, Tomoe, and Berry.

"Nise!" Amagi called out, worried about Nise's wellbeing.

" **I never** ** _asked_** **to be born here** " Amagi's Shadow began, causing the room to be silent with all eyes on her. " **Where everything's been decided for me 'till I** ** _die_** **.** " Amagi's Shadow began to shake, trembling in anger.

" **I don't want it... I don't want ANY OF IT!** " Amagi's Shadow screamed. I took a step forward, my eyes locked on Amagi's Shadow.

"Hanamura, we got to-" I began, when I was suddenly interrupted by Hanamura's scream. I turned around and saw that Hanamura's feet were glued onto the ground by some sort wax.

"What the hell is this crap?!" Hanamura shouted, squirming to get out of the wax. Amagi suddenly fell to her knees, catching my attention.

"None of this is... True...!" Amagi argued weakly. Amagi's Shadow smirked as she tied her hands together in front of her chest.

" **I just want to go somewhere far away... Anywhere but here... I want someone to** ** _whisk_** **me away! I can't leave here on my own... I'm completely useless...** " Amagi's Shadow mocked, impressing some sort of princess like tone. Amagi flinched at her Shadow's words, looking away.

"Stop it... Please, stop it...!" Amagi begged weakly, her voice shaking.

" **I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave... So I sit on my** ** _ass_** **hoping that someday my Prince will come! He'll take me somewhere far away from** ** _here_** " Amagi's Shadow sneered.

"Stop...! I'm begging, stop...!" Amagi cried softly, almost breaking down into tears of shame.

" **An 'old tradition'? The 'pride of the town'? Screw it all!** " Amagi's Shadow shouted, her face scrunched up so much that wrinkles appeared on her forehead.

"How dare you say that!" Amagi snapped, recovering from her shadow's words.

" **But's how I feel. Isn't that right,** ** _other me_** **?** " Amagi's Shadow asked, an evil smirk on her face.

"No, it isn't! You are not-" Amagi said shaking, her tone starting to return.

"Yukiko!" Nise yelled, still tied in the red carpet.

"Don't say it!" I heard Hanamura shout behind me. Amagi stood up, her hands rolled up into fists.

"You're a liar! You are NOT me!" Amagi shirked, causing me to wince at her loud voice. Amagi's Shadow started laughing maniacally. A black and red aura began to surround her, as she took it all in with open arms. Laughter echoed throughout the room as Amagi's Shadow was engulfed in a ball of dark energy. The ball of dark energy then shot up into the air and disappeared for a brief moment. A few seconds later, a large, chandelier came crashing down onto the floor. I flinched at what was occupied in the chandelier that had doubled as a cage.

Amagi's Shadow took on the form of a bird with fiery-red plumage. She had a cream-colored, heart-shaped breast and still retained her face and black hair. She was trapped inside the cage and looked rather uncomfortable for some reason. When the cage door swung open, the reason for Amagi's Shadow discomfort was made evident when she moved in closer to the open door and spread her wings. She had a large wingspan and her cage was too small to accommodate to it.

" **I am a shadow... Of your** ** _true_** **inner self!** " Amagi's Shadow growled. Amagi started taking a few steps back, horrified by what the once beautiful princess had turned into. I flinched as I saw the small cage next to Amagi suddenly float up into the air. I sprinted forward, tackling Amagi out of the way as the cage enlarged and tried to capture Amagi. I got up and pulled Amagi up with me, pulling her behind me.

"Nice tackle, Narukami-chan!" Nise cheered, as he struggled out of the carpet that held him captive. I nodded a swift thanks to him before dragging Amagi away from the large caged.

" **My, my! There can only be** ** _one_** **princess, you filthy COMMONER!** " Amagi's Shadow screeched, flapping her wings. I glared at it as I pulled Amagi close to me, preparing for an attack. Fire started to explode near us, causing Amagi to scream while I shielded her.

" **Your face disgusts me! My dear Prince, begin the execution!** " I heard Amagi's Shadow ordered, causing me to flinch. I was suddenly attacked by the right, causing me to fly; leaving Amagi unprotected.

"Yukiko!" Nise shouted, causing me to spot Amagi being held captive by the cage I tried to protect her from. Something heavy suddenly tackled me from behind, smashing me to the ground. With a squeak of pain, I slowly looked over my shoulder, seeing a shadow wearing regal clothing with a flowing red cape. Silver armor covered the lower half of their body, mainly around the legs. They had on silver gauntlets and a breastplate of the same color. A white mask completely obscured the figure's face, save for their eyes, which were golden in color. They had short, brown hair and wore a small crown on the top of their head. It was sitting right on top of me and forcefully had it's sward over my neck, threatening to cut off my head.

"Narukami-chan!" I heard Hanamura call out to me. I was struggling to breathe, and my consciousness was starting to vary. At this rate...

* * *

3rd POV

Yosuke gritted his teeth at the shadow who was sitting on top of his partner. He knew Hitomi was in great pain based on the way that Izanagi acted, slowly swaying down to the ground. Yosuke gritted his teeth, slipping out of the candle wax that used to keep him captive. Thanks to the Yukiko's Shadow earlier move with the fire, it melted the wax just enough for his to escape. At the same time, Jiraiya got enough strength to remove the chandelier from him.

"Damn it, Narukami-chan! Yukiko!" Nise shouted, unsure what to do as he finally escaped the carpet's grasp.

"Nise!" Yukiko called out, frightened, as she grasped the cage bars. Nise gritted his teeth as he glanced over to Hitomi who was struggling not to pass out. He had to save her, but he also need to save Yukiko. Nise closed his eyes as he sent Tomoe over to Hitomi, as Yosuke and Jiraiya ran towards her as well. He was going to let Tomoe help Hitomi while he, _himself_ , was going to save Yukiko.

"Hold on, Yukiko! Whatever she throws out, I'll take in more" Nise said with a cocky smirk, irritating Yukiko's Shadow.

" **Oh** ** _really_** **? Then I'll give you plenty to deal with!** " Yukiko's Shadow laughed. Yukiko's shadow flapped her wings, causing the elegant red feathers to fly off, exploding near Nise. He dodged the explosions, protecting his head with an arm as he ran towards Yukiko's cage.

"Yukiko, I'm on my way!" Nise called out, catching Yukiko's attention. She couldn't believe what Nise was doing for her. Nise had done so much for her and never asked for anything in return. Yukiko's Shadow giggled evilly a she swung her cage towards Nise, causing him to fly back. Nise let out a cry of pain as he fell on his back.

"Nise!" Yukiko cried out as her Shadow's cage rocked side to side. Things were looking rather bad for Nise, especially since Tomoe was busy helping Yosuke rescue Hitomi.

Meanwhile, things haven't been going all that smoothly either with Yosuke and the two persona's. The Shadow had its sward in Hitomi's first layer of skin and was going to go further in if Jiraiya or Tomoe were to come any closer. Hitomi at this point was turning purple, barely breathing- if at all.

 _Come on, think! Think Yosuke, think! Narukami-chan's life is at risk!_ Yosuke thought to himself, gritting his teeth. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed Izanagi staggering towards his owner, static covering him from head to toe. A small smirk crept to Yosuke's face, an idea popping to his head. Jiraiya fallowed Yosuke's sudden instructions and grabbed Tomoe's arm, both of them flying upward into the dark abyss. The Shadow looked up, confused at their actions. Yosuke looked back over to Izanagi and nodded, telling Izanagi to strike. Izanagi did as Yosuke instructed and swung his nagatana with the remaining strength it had left, causing the Shadow to fly across the room. Yosuke instantly ran towards Hitomi, needing to make sure that she was alive.

"Narukami-chan! Narukami-chan, can you hear me?! I know this is a bright room with the fire and all, but don't head towards any bright white light!" Yosuke shouted, holding the unconscious silver-hared girl in his arms.

"Sensei!" Berry squeaked as she ran towards Yosuke and Hitomi. Hitomi gasped at the freedom of her ribs and started to cough violently. Yosuke sighed silently in relief, a smile on his face. He turned his attention over to the Shadow, Jiraiya, and Tomoe. The shadow looked injured, staggering as Tomoe and Jiraiya took turns, hitting it with their weapons. In the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar flock of black clothing slowly walk forwards. Yosuke looked over and saw that Izanagi had recovered slightly, less static on him now as he extended his left hand. Knowing what Izanagi was going to do, Yosuke turned his attention to Jiraiya and Tomoe.

"Here comes some thunder!" Yosuke shouted, causing Jiraiya to flinch and grab Tomoe's arm, quickly dragging the two of them away from the weak Shadow. Lightening suddenly shot out, striking the Shadow prince. The Shadow vanished, turning into black mist. Yosuke grinned in victory, nodding a thanks to Izanagi. Izanagi did nothing as he suddenly disappeared, causing Yosuke to flinch. He looked over to Hitomi and saw that her eyes were barely open, breathing heavily. Yosuke began to panic, unsure what to do now.

" **Too bad... I though Nise would** ** _save_** **me, but...** " Yukiko's Shadow began, catching Yosuke and the barely conscious Hitomi's attention. " **But Nise didn't save me! He wasn't my prince at all!** " The candles that surrounded Yukiko's cage began to shoot out beams of fire upward.

" **I waited... For so... Very... VERY... LONG!** " Yukiko's Shadow screeched, as Yosuke brought Hitomi close to him, shielding her from whatever attack. The fire beams headed straight for Nise who struggled to sit up. Suddenly, a familiar small creature stood in front of Nise, absorbing the fire. Yosuke flinched at the sight of the small creature, looking down to his arms. Hitomi's eyes were more open now, as she tried to regulate her breathing. Somehow, right before the beams of fire headed for Nise, Hitomi gathered enough strength to summon up Pyro Jack.

"You're right... Maybe Nise-kun isn't your prince..." Hitomi began, her voice shaking. Nise flinched at Hitomi's sudden voice, and turned around seeing Hitomi being held by Yosuke. "But is it really all that... Important?"

" **What...?!** " Yukiko's Shadow growled, hating the sound of Hitomi's voice. Feeling strength return to her, Hitomi slowly sat up, placing a hand on her neck wound.

"Nise-kun... Came all this way and risked his life... To save Amagi-san" Hitomi continued weakly. "I think that's proof that he really _does_ care. What more could he have done?" Nise blushed a little by Hitomi's words, feeling motivation and courage welling up inside him.

"Narukami-chan..." Nise muttered, a small grateful smile on his face.

" **I...** " the Shadow began, catching Nise's attention. " **I've had ENOUGH!** " The candles surrounding Shadow Yukiko flared up and ignited the surrounding red feathers. Soon, flames spread around the room as everything caught on fire. The fire became to intense for Pyro Jack to handle, causing him to fly back as a small burst exploded next to him. Hitomi flinched at Pyro Jack's pain, almost passing out but was caught by Yosuke. The fire began to flare towards Yosuke and Hitomi, causing Yosuke to shield the girl in his arms while Berry ran around in a circle with a burning tale. Nise, in the middle of the flaming pit, gave a sympathetic look to Yukiko's Shadow. He didn't want to admit it, but he was going to; for the sake of his friends safety. Nise stood up, causing Yukiko to have tears well up in her eyes.

"Nise.. Get out of here...!" Yukiko sobbed, not wanting to see her childhood friend hurt. Nise ignored Yukiko's sob, although it pained him to see her tears, and began to calmly walk forward towards Yukiko- their eyes locked.

"Yukiko... I won't leave you" Nise said calmly as he walked cautiously towards her. "Listen, I have something to tell you and it's very important." Nise suddenly stopped and covered his face as a gust of strong wind, courtesy of Yukiko's Shadow, sent a wave of flames towards him. The air was hot and the flames were burning brightly. It made it difficult for Nise to see, but he didn't give up.

"T-This isn't easy... But you see-" Nise began, his face starting to turn red with embarrassment. "I-I was always jealous of you!" Yukiko flinched in surprise as Nise locked eyes with her, his face burning redder.

"You're just... so much stronger than I will ever be. You manage to keep your grades high while working at the end and then you deal with an idiot like me... If I was in your shoes, I would have cried like the coward I am" Nise began, struggling to keep his eyes on Yukiko. It was hard to admit this and look directly into Yukiko's eyes. "Remember how I use to cry all the time? Because of that, people started to ignore me all together. But it wasn't until I met you and became your friend that people started to acknowledge me again. That I was able to hold back my tears 87% of the time and learn how to act like a man. The fact that I was able to do all of this _just_ because of you... I felt like if I let you go, I'd be that coward I used to be. In a way, I was using you." Nise began to recall the way that the students talked after an exam last year, where Yukiko had entered the top ten.

 _"Yukiko-san's so smart!"_

 _"She get's all the boys, isn't that totally annoying?!"_

 _"I thought she was going out with that one guy..."_

 _"Who? Are you talking about that tall girl Amagi-san hangs out with?"_

 _"Wait, that was a girl? I thought it was a guy because of his uniform!"_

 _"No way, the face she has on is too feminine to be a guy. It's most definitely a girl- in fact, I saw her crying just before the exams started!"_

 _"I heard that they couldn't get a size for her, that's why she wears the boy's uniform."_

Nise's hands tightened up into fists, his eyes narrowing. He was so jealous about that. He was so jealous at how Yukiko was so popular, and that she was noticed by everyone. Even if she did something wrong, people would brush it aside. Nise on the other hand... He cries once during elementary, and no one will let him live it down. He was noticed through his childhood friend, teased about his face, and knew deep down that he was nothing more than a crybaby who couldn't even stand being alone at night.

"You... You had something that I could never get. Deserved attention. A chance" Nise continued as he recalled the day when those two boys pestered her into hanging out with them. "You got people's attention by the guys and girls alike, and the teacher's respected you. I had nothing. That's why I loved when you took me seriously. When you depended on me. It made me think that you're safety was _my_ responsibility... That I had to protect you. It gave me a purpose..."

" **Exactly!** " Yukiko's Shadow screeched. " **I can't do anything on my own! I'm helpless!** "

"That's not true!" Nise shouted, catching Yukiko in surprise with that response. "Yukiko... you're one of the strongest people I know. You want to escape? Then do it!"

"You can break free of that cage all on your own!" Nise shouted as he kept walking closer to Yukiko. "Leave there and go wherever you want! You gotta listen to me…I know you can do this!"

"You're wrong, Nise, I can't..." Yukiko choked, tears in her eyes. She closed her eyes and looked down, the memory of the day she lost her bird replaying in her mind. "I'm far too weak to leave…"

Even back then, on the day her caged friend escaped from its cage, she wasn't heartbroken. She was mortified. The bird she had thought was so much like her had flown free of its cage. Yukiko pretended that she had forgotten to lock the cage door that day, but that was it. The bird had managed to open the cage door all on its own, having found the courage it needed to do so. On the last day of her first year of high school, Yukiko had thrown away the cage that once housed the little bird she cared for. She didn't want to acknowledge what it had done. That even such a little bird could find the courage to leave, unlike her.

"I'm not strong enough...! I am weak, and pathetic…" Yukiko sobbed. "I'm such a horrible coward who waited on someone else to set me free...!"

"So what?!" Nise shouted, causing him to cough. Yukiko flinched at her friends coughing and looked up, seeing Nise struggle to stand. "You were... scared!"

"Nise!" Yukiko called out as she watched him fall onto the floor, holding himself up with his hands and knees. Nise was having trouble breathing with all the fire consuming the surrounding oxygen. It was getting difficult for him to talk, but it was nothing compared to the heavy feeling of guilt in his heart for using Yukiko like some _thing_.

"There are parts of me that I'm not really proud of either..." Nise coughed. "Horrible things that I'm really ashamed of... But they don't matter... I will _always_ be there for you!" Nise slowly rose back up to his feet, a familiar smile that Yukiko liked on his face. The tears that had piled up in Yukiko's eyes began to fall, afraid that her friend was going to die at this rate.

"Listen, you think you're weak? Look at me! I can't do anything without you! I'm only strong because of you... I was only able to make it this far because I want to make it up to you, Yukiko! I don't want to see you as some _thing_ that makes people forget about my cowardly ways! I want to see you as my childhood _friend_ again!" Nise exclaimed, his eyes glowing with determination. He wanted Yukiko to be his friend- his best friend- again, just like in the old days when the two of them would play with his dog.

"Nise..." Yukiko muttered, a faint blush creeping on her cheeks.

"You have no idea how much it really meant to me when you say, 'thank you' to me..." Nise began, his face becoming more gentle as he slowly began to reach out his hand for Yukiko. "I was always ignored and there you were, acknowledging my existence... I don't care if I'm not your prince. No matter what happens, I'll always be there to protect you."

" **STOP IT!** " Yukiko's Shadow screeched, blowing wind to make the fire raise up. " **I SAID STOP!** " Yukiko stared at Nise, who stood his ground- hand still out- despite the new flames. The more Yukiko thought about it, the more she questioned herself.

What was I so afraid of before?

Yukiko found it so much easier to stand up. The bars felt so fragile when she grabbed them, almost as if just one wrong movement could break them.

There was never nothing to fear... I have everything I need!

Yukiko tightened her grip on the bars and tried to pull them apart. Just that simple action alone caused the bars to shatter, finally freeing her. Just like her bird, Yukiko realized that she had everything she needed outside of her cage. The freedom to spread her wings... It was the best feeling she had ever felt in years even though she was praised by so many people.

"Nise!" Yukiko called out, reaching her hand towards him. Nise extended both of his arms this time, knowing that he wouldn't be able to catch her in one.

"Yukiko...!" Nise said with a warm smile, catching the kimono clothed girl in his arms, slightly stumbling back. It felt so good to just lean on Nise's shoulder again... Just knowing Nise was there for her despite everything.

"Thank you..." Yukiko whispered as Nise stroked her hair.

" **NO!** " Yukiko's Shadow screamed, causing the two childhood friends to cut their moment short.

Over with Yosuke, Hitomi, and Berry; Yosuke was close to panicking right now. Hitomi had wavered back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness while nestled in Yosuke's arms. Berry had both of her paws pushed against the silver-haired girl's neck, making the bleeding stop so that Hitomi wasn't at a greater risk. Right now, the girl was conscious, staring with dazed eyes at Yosuke.

"The Shadow's growing weak now!" Berry squeaked turning her attention to the shadow who was cage-less. Yosuke looked down at Hitomi and smiled.

"You know what that means" Yosuke said as he helped Hitomi sit up, her head snuggled on his chest. Hitomi took a deep breath, turning her attention to the Shadow. She slowly extended her left hand with her small amount of energy.

"...Pyro Jack" Hitomi muttered, unable to call out his name like she usually would have. Pyro Jack obeyed his owner and laughed in his mischievous voice, flying towards the bird like shadow. Yukiko's Shadow flapped her wings at him in annoyance, fire escaping the tips of her wings. But Pyro Jack absorbed it into his lantern, giving Hitomi some energy back.

" **What?! What are you-?!** " Yukiko's Shadow squawked, roughly flying up into the air. " **Get away from me, you nuisances! No! Stop it!** " Yukiko's Shadow was to preoccupied with Pyro jack to have noticed Jiraiya flying behind her, his shuriken plunging into the bird's back. Yukiko's Shadow screamed out in pain. Nise glared at the bird, ordering Tomoe to have the finishing blow. Tomoe flew upward quickly, stabbing one end of his double bladed spear into the bird's chest, causing the birds to shortly exploding as the princess version gently floated down to the ground.

Red, translucent feathers fell elegantly from the ceiling, the fire finally dying out. Thanks to all the fire Pyro Jack had absorbed, Hitomi had a lot of her energy restored to her, just enough so to sit up on her own and keep her eyes open. Walking and standing as something she was going to see for herself later on when everyone leaves. As the translucent feathers fall, Nise hugged Yukiko tighter in his arms, a somber face matching to the Shadow's.

"Nise?" Yukiko muttered, a little surprised by Nise's sudden actions.

"I'm really sorry, Yukiko" Nise began, breaking their embrace. "I was so wrapped up with my own stuff that I didn't even notice all things you were going through... And I really should have." Yukiko blinked in surprise at Nise's sudden apology, her face softening.

"I didn't notice all the things that were bothering you either..." Yukiko muttered with a small smile, trying to make her childhood friend feel better. She looked down at her feet, knowing now what to do. "I just wanted to escape." Yukiko slowly walked past Nise, towards the somber Shadow, silently watching the scene.

"You see..." Yukiko began with a strained tone, wishing that the others weren't there. "That's why I created you. 'I want to run away'… 'I want someone to save me'… You're right, those feelings are part of me, too. I understand now." Yukiko walked up to her Shadow with her head held up high, taking her hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't acknowledge your voice before..." Yukiko said with a firm voice, drawing her Shadow into an embrace. "You _are_ a part of me." Yukiko's Shadow's eyes widened as Yukiko embraced her. Unable to find her voice, the princess nodded and closed her eyes. A blue light began to emit from her body until she disappeared into light. The instant she disappeared, a figure appeared before Yukiko.

The figure resembled a beautiful woman dressed in white and pink. She had short hair and yellow eyes. She almost appeared to have wings connected to her arms and back. Yosuke and Hitomi stared at the card as it slowly descended into Yukiko's hands, glowing a light blue.

"So I guess that's..." Yosuke began. "...Amagi-san's Persona" Hitomi finished softly. Feeling her strength failing her, Yukiko fell to her knees.

"Yukiko!" Nise shouted as he ran over to Yukiko, whom was now on the floor. Hitomi looked over to Yosuke and nodded, telling him she might need help standing up. With a worried look in his face, Yosuke slowly rose Hitomi up to her with the help of Berry. Yosuke wrapped Hitomi's arm around his neck just be safe and the trio made their way to Yukiko and Nise.

"Are you okay?" Yosuke asked catching the duo's attention. Nise flinched at the sight of Hitomi, his facial expression turning into a worried one. Yukiko looked up, wearily nodding in pain.

"Yes, I'm just a little tired…You all came to rescue me…?" Yukiko asked, remembering how Yosuke and Hitomi were fighting her Shadow as well. Hitomi nodded slightly, her body slowly regenerating.

"Yes, we were worried about you... Amagi-san" Hitomi explained softly, causing Yukiko to flinch at her soft voice and present state. She also felt a little flattered by Hitomi's words. The girls didn't knew each other all that well, and yet she was worried about her. Yukiko blushed a little and smiled.

"Thank you…" Yukiko whispered, feeling embarrassed. Hitomi nodded, letting the exhausted manager-in-training know that she didn't mind at all, despite being nearly killed.

"So... Who threw you in here?" Berry asked Yukiko, causing her to flinch in surprise.

"Huh? Uh... Who are you? Rather, what are you?" Yukiko asked, baffled by Berry's presence.

"I'm Berry the Bear!" Berry chirped.

"I'm sorry, I'm not fallowing..." Yukiko muttered in confusion. Yosuke glared at Berry, kicking her a little.

"See that?! Everything you say only causes confusion, so zip it!" Yosuke shouted, causing Hitomi's head to throb.

"Shut up, you meanie!" Berry shouted before turning her attention to Yukiko. "So, who threw you in?" Yukiko blinked a few times, a stressed look on her face, having trouble recalling the events yesterday.

"I don't know... I think... someone called my name... But my memory's a blur..." Yukiko began, her voice strained. "I can't remember who it was... I'm sorry, um... Berry." Berry pouted, upset at the facts given to her.

"No new clues..." Berry sighed. Yosuke raised an eyebrow, eyeing Berry with a lock that asked if she was joking or not.

"Not necessarily" Yosuke began, catching Berry's attention. "Now we know for sure... Someone threw Amagi-san in here" Hitomi finished.

"Anyways!" Nise interrupted, helping Yukiko stand up, "Let's hurry back. Yukiko looks exhausted…"

"Sounds good. Narukami-chan needs to rest too" Yosuke agreed, looking over at the silver-haired girl who looked just as exhausted as Yukiko did. Nise nodded and the four began to walk.

"Wa-Wa-Wa-Waiiiittt!" Berry exclaim, earning a groan from Yosuke. Nise and Yukiko turned around, confused at Berry's sudden shout. Yosuke looked over his shoulder, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"Y-You're... You're gonna leave me here?" Berry asked, tears filling her eyes.

"'Leave you here'? What are you talking about, don't you _live_ here?" Yosuke growled, not wanting to deal with Berry and take Hitomi home. Berry puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, the tears growing bigger as she looked down.

"Well... Yeah, but..." Berry whimpered. Yukiko felt sorry for Berry and walked over to her.

"I'm sorry Berry..." Yukiko said apologetically a she walked over to Berry. She placed her hand on her head and started petting her soft, blue fur. "I promise to come again... So be a good girl and wait here until then..." Berry stared at Yukiko for a moment, feeling her fur become warm. Berry smiled and nodded, liking the motherly tone that were hidden behind Yukiko's words. With a relieved sigh from Yosuke, the gang was off again; ready to get a good night's sleep.


	8. The Basketball Team

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" the man with the long nose, known as Igor, greeted. The platinum-blonde haired woman next to him, known as Margaret, looked up; a small smile creeping to her lips.

"I foresee the effects of two arcana's shining very brightly in your future" Margaret began as two cards descended, glowing a bright blue. The cards were shining more brightly than normal that Hitomi couldn't make out the designs of them. "I see the moon and strength. Soon, you will forge an entirely new set of bonds. And these new powers will be born." The cards suddenly disappeared instead of falling to the tome on Margaret's lap.

"These bonds play an important part" Margret continued as she looked over to Hitomi. "They will illuminate the path that lies before you, and will shine the light that will unfold the truth." Igor opened his eyes slightly, knowing that Hitomi was about to awaken in the real world.

"Now then" Igor began, catching Hitomi's attention, "Until our paths cross again. Please, take care..." Hitomi flinched in surprise, a little stunned that he was able to take note of Hitomi's injury without her even mentioning it. Soon, her vision began to blur as darkness engulfed the room.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, April 19th_**

I let out a soft yawn while covering my mouth, feeling lighter as the yawn escaped. I suddenly flinched in pain as a sharp stung the back of my neck. I let out a silent sigh as I gently rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the rough material of the bandage. Everything that happened yesterday was intense and certainly something I never would have expected. As the group's leader, I need to create a more balanced plan. I thought back to the events yesterday after we had gotten out of the television.

If it was Amagi's exhaustion or something else that had prevented Amagi from remembering her kidnapping, it was something I won't know until she returns. Amagi was a lot more tired than we had thought, and almost passed out from exhaustion. So we decided to call it a day, with Nise taking Amagi home.

Hanamura was worried about my injuries from the Prince like shadow and didn't let me go home until he treated them. As Hanamura treated my neck wound, we started talking about the case. We weren't able to gather any new clues like Berry had said, but we did put so and so together. Amagi was most certainly, 'attacked' as -Hanamura puts it- the same way as the last two victims. And the 'Amagi' that we had seen on the midnight channel wasn't the real 'Amagi', but rather her shadow expressing her inner feelings. But with the little information we had gathered, it feels as if Hanamura and I are going around and around in circles.

As I walked towards the school, I noticed a girl with shirt light-brown hair tied into a short ponytail jog past me, wearing the YasoHigh school Jersey. I blinked after her in surprise, feeling as if I had seen her somewhere before. The light-brown haired girl jogged a little further up to a girl with medium dark-blue hair tied into two pigtails.

"Morning!" the girl in light-brown hair greeted the other. "You know how girls can join the sports club starting today, right? I thought that maybe if I ran around a little, that would be some good promotion." The dark-blue girl took one look at her friend before giggling.

"Girl, if you run around in that, how're people gonna know which club you're in?" the dark-blue haired girl giggled.

"I didn't think about that..." the other girl gasped. Her face suddenly turned red as she ruffled up her hair in frustration. "Augh! And I forced myself to run by all those people too! Do you know how creepy it is to have boys stare at you as you run?!"

"Why're you so bothered by that? It's not like you have anything in the front. That's classic you!" the dark-blue haired girl laughed. The brown haired girl punched her friend's arm in embarrassment, huffing.

"But, you know, I hope our club gets some fresh blood. Not a lot of girls join, which is real bad for us!" the blue haired girl whined.

"Yeah, I hear you... Let's just wait and see what happens" the brown haired suggested. I stared at the two girl's, finally recalling where I've seen them before. Right before Amagi was thrown into the television, I bumped into them after school. If I recall, Hanamura got a punch in the face after disrespecting Nise's hand writing.

* * *

 ** _Early Morning..._**

Hanamura sighed out in exhaustion as he rested his chin on his desk. I stared at him as he mumbled, a soft pink on his cheeks.

"Good Morning, Hanamura" I greeted after staring at him for a little bit. Hanamura tensed up as his cheeks reddened. I blinked in confusion, tilting my head slightly. Hanamura cleared his throat as he slowly sat up, resting his right on his right hand.

"Mornin'..." Hanamura replied weakly, the once red cheeks disappearing. He went silent after that, avoiding eye contact with me. Something was obviously wrong with him. I opened my mouth, wanting to ask him what was the matter, when the sound of the door opening caught my attention. It was Nise, a familiar bright smile on his face as he happily walked inside.

"Goood Mornin'!" Nise greeted, slipping off a strap of his blue backpack.

"Good Morning" I greeted with a nod as Hanamura groaned. Nise threw his bag onto his desk as he sat on the edge of the desk, a grateful smile on his face.

"Thanks for your help yesterday!" Nise chirped, looking at me then over the Hanamura. Hanamura groaned once again, not saying a proper word. Nise ignored him and looked back over at me with a worried expression.

"Hey, about that cut you got... It didn't stir up to much trouble did it? Like, over at your place with the folks your stayin' with?" Nise asked nervously. I blinked at him in surprise as I touched the bandage.

"Ah, well... My uncle didn't come home last night, and his daughter didn't notice because of my hair" I explained. I looked over to Hanamura, who had one eye open, listening to our conversation. "After you and Amagi-san left, Hanamura took out some bandages from his father's office and fixed me." Hanamura's face exploded red as he looked away, gritting his teeth.

"Can we _please_ not talk about my dad right now?" Hanamura muttered, finally using words. I stared at him in confusion as he sighed, trying to regain his composure.

"What's wrong with you, dude?" Nise asked, raising an eyebrow, earning a groan of exhaustion.

"I'm totally spent..." Hanamura began. "But, we _did_ save Yukiko. So I guess that makes up for it." A small smile formed on Hanamura's face as he slowly got his energy back. I nodded in agreement before looking over to Nise.

"So, where is Amagi-san? She didn't come to school with you?" I asked. Nise frowned a little bit as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Nah, she's still pretty beat up considerin' all that happened. So she's going to a couple days off" Nise explained. A bright smile fell on his face as he gave a thumbs up.

"But hey! Don't worry, she wanted me to tell you guys that she'll be fine" Nise chirped. He stood up straight from his desk and pulled out his chair.

"Well, that's good to hear" I said, my tension draining. Nise laughed as he took a proper seat.

"Yeah, ain't it?" Nise began, his smile looking almost identical to the American cartoon character, Cheshire Cat. "I feel so much better now that Yukiko's safe. It's like we can finally go back to a regular routine again!"

"You are _way_ to perky right now" I heard Hanamura groan, catching our attention. Hanamura was slouching over his desk, his eyelids closed as if he was about to pass out from exhaustion at any minute.

"Narukami-chan and I have been running our selves ragged for what seems like forever..." Hanamura groaned, opening one eye. "Haven't we, brah?" I stared at Hanamura with a slightly bored look, a little stunned by his choosing of words for me. I don't think a boy has ever called me 'bra' before. Why would he call me that anyway?

"Besides from my neck, I feel pretty good" I said bluntly, reaching for my hair and fiddling with the ends of it. Hanamura exclaimed in shock as he sat up, his hands hitting the desk.

"Say what?! What the hell are you two made of!?" Hanamura exclaimed. He began to ramble on about how he's been using multiple products to ease his stiff bones but nothing has been working.

"Now that I think of it, you _have_ been holding up pretty well through all this. For a girl, that is" Nise began, catching my attention. He used the 'for a girl' phrase again... I guess I'll let it slide for now. He'll get better at that.

"Do you play a lot of sports?" Nise asked, slugging his arm around his chair. I shook my head.

"No, not really" I replied. Nise thought for a moment, deep in thought as he stared at me. His face suddenly light up as an idea came to mind.

"Well then, if you haven't signed up for a club or a team, I could really use your help with somethin'!" Nise said, leaning forward a little bit. I leaned back, suddenly uncomfortable by his closeness and blinked in surprise.

"Um... Alright then...?" I said softly, a little nervous as to where this was going at. Nise grinned, a happy chuckle escaping.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

"The... Gym?" I muttered, staring at the doors in front of me. Right after the school bell rang, Nise dragged me straight here. No words needed, he just grabbed my wrist and dragged me here. I could hear the sound of rushed footsteps echoing from inside as well as something being constantly hit.

"Don't worry! It'll be all good!" Nise chirped as he opened the doors. I blinked in surprise at what I saw inside. There was a small amount of girls inside, running about, playing basketball. I was certainly a little surprised by this, thinking back to all the other school's I've been too. I don't think a single one of them had a girl's basketball team. I guess the countryside is just a bit more open to women's sports.

"Hey, Ichijo!" Nise called out, catching a familiar dark-blue haired girl's attention. I blinked in surprise, realizing that the girl was from this morning. But instead of her hair being tied into twin pigtails, they're tied into a sloppy ponytail. The girl stopped dribbling the ball, a smile forming on her lips at the sight of Nise.

"Oh, hey Nise-kun!" the dark-blue haired girl chirped. She turned back to her teammates and passed one of them the ball before running over.

"So, what brings you here? Need something?" the girl asked happily, her medium lengthened ponytail bouncing. Nise smiled back, while patting my head.

"I came here to bring you a new teammate!" Nise said with a wink causing me to tense. The blue haired girl blushed a little as her smile widened.

"For real?!" she squealed, taking note of my presences. She stared at me for a moment before smiling and leaning toward me."Hey, you're that new girl right? You _did_ show up!" I blinked nervously as sweat began to form on my forehead.

"Uh... Well I only... Nise-kun asked me... I'm just here to watch" I tried to explain. The blue haired girl suddenly grabbed both my hands with her own, giving me a closed eye smile.

"My name's Kou Ichijo! Thanks so much for showing up!" she giggled, her teeth shining despite the cloudy day. I stared at her wryly, hesitantly nodding.

"Sure... No problem...?" I said with a hint of confusion. She was waiting for me to show up?

"Hey, what's the hold up? I can't stay around _too_ long, you know" a female voice called out, as the light-brown haired girl with her hair tied into a short ponytail walked towards us. Noticing the blue haired girl and me holding hands, the brown haired girl looked at me.

"Hm? Oh, are you joining? I'm with the soccer team, Chou Nagase" the girl introduced. I blinked in slight surprise and confusion.

"So this is... The soccer team?" I asked, a little confused at the information. Nagase laughed, causing me to blush faintly in embarrassment.

"No girl, I'm just came here today to ditch practice! Ichijo and I go way, way, _way_ back" Nagase explained, making an exaggerated face if exhaustion while saying how long Ichijo and Nagase go back. Nise laughed as he slugged his arm around her neck, earning a bored look from her.

"Come on Chou-chan, no need to be so shy! I know that you were helpin' out Kou-chan with practice since they're short on members" Nise laughed.

"I wasn't being shy, now get off me" Nagase said coldly, removing Nise's arms. Nise pouted at Nagase's cold behavior as Ichijo's grip on my hands tighten, turning my attention towards her.

"Yeah... See, they're about to shut my team down 'cause we're _way_ low on players. Especially since not too many girls join sports and only go for the culture clubs" Ichijo began, her tone sounding sad. But a smile quickly fell on her face. "So we'd, like, be totally happy with you as a new recruit!" I flinched at her sudden perkiness, the sweat rolling down my forehead.

"U-Um... Well, I-I'm not so sure that-" I stammered, trying to get out of this situation. I've never played basketball before and if I were to join, I would only bring the team down.

"Please!" Ichijo begged, Nise and Nagase standing behind her, with pleading looks. Ichijo let go my hands and clapped them together in front of her face. "We really need your help girl, even if it's just for a little bit! I'm begging you!" I gulped at the eyes that fell on me. I wasn't used to all this attention.

"Well, I... Uh..." I stammered. Ichijo and Nagase bowed, supporting Ichijo's begging state. After a moment I silently sighed in defeat.

"...Even if it's just for a little bit?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head. Ichijo's face light up at my defeated tone and threw her hands up in the air.

"Yes! Thanks so much for joining, you're the best!" Ichijo cheered, tackling me into a hug.

"Hey lineup you guys! We got a new temp. team member!" Ichijo called out, causing the girls who had stopped playing to scatter about, forming a line. Nagase and Nise smiled at Ichijo's happy face, as Nise patted me on the shoulder.

"Thanks for helpin' out, Narukami-chan. I gotta take off, so later!" Nise waved goodbye as he began to walk out the door.

"Look's like I'm not needed. See you later, Ichijo" Nagase said with a nod, walking out the door as well. I sighed once more as Ichijo began to drag me towards the other payers. There was about five players present and a boy there as well. Ichijo wasn't joking when she said there wasn't a lot of girls playing.

"This the new transfer student from class 2-2! Her name is Hitomi Narukami, so be good to her okay?" Ichijo chirped. Ichijo poked me in the ribs after a pause of silence.

"Go on, say something, don't be shy!" Ichijo whispered in my ear.

"Ah... Happy to help out" I said with a small bow.

"Thanks a lot" the girls replied as they bowed.

"So, uh... Where did everybody else go?" Ichijo asked, looking around the empty gym. A girl with blonde hair straightened up as she pointed her thumb behind her.

"They all bailed" she said bluntly.

"We wanted to work on rebounds, but they said that they were all tired and left" another girl with auburn hair explained, an upset look on her face.

"Again?" Ichijo groaned. I looked at her with a blank face as she suddenly remembered something. Ichijo smiled a little as she directed my attention to the right side of the line.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. This is our team manager, Aki Ebihara!" Ichijo introduced. I blinked in surprise of the boy's persistence. He had short light brown hair like Nise's, but it wasn't a bob like his. He has brown eyes, a long chain necklace hanging down from his neck with a few earrings priced into his ears. His jacket was open, showing his white dress shirt.

"Generally, I'm not even here" Ebihara began, running his hand through is hair with a bored look. "So don't go askin' me for any favors, got it?" The girl's sweat dropped at Ebihara's blunt behavior, leaving me speechless. For a manager, he didn't seem to be very motivated.

"I'm done for today" Ebihara said suddenly as he began to walk out the door.

"What?!" Ichijo squeaked, her face becoming pale. "B-But hey, we still have to clean up the place!" Ebihara waved as he continued to walk, grabbing his bag along the way.

"Not my problem. You're all athletes right? Do it yourself, can't be that hard" Ebihara said bluntly, leaving Ichijo and I speechless.

"Ichijo, we got to head off too" the girl auburn hair said, slowly walking towards the doors as well. Ichijo exclaimed in surprise and shock, unable to say anything. A girl with black hair wearing glasses passed by, a big smile on her face.

"There's a party tonight! Can't miss it" she said with a wink.

"Are you guys serious?!" Ichijo asked, stunned by her teammates unenthusiastic behavior. As the players lift the gym, leaving only Ichijo and I, a depressing silence formed in the air; mainly radiating from Ichijo. With a silent sigh, I tapped Ichijo's shoulder, catching her attention.

"I'll help clean up" I said. Ichijo blinked in surprise at my offer, a soft blush forming on her cheeks.

"Huh? Really?" Ichijo asked, stunned. I nodded, causing her face to light up.

"Wow, you're really nice Narukami! Thanks, and sorry for bothering you" Ichijo chirped happily. I shook my head.

"It's fine" I reassured. Ichijo smiled happily as the two of us began to clean the gym.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

Nanako and I watched the televisions by ourselves, as usual. The news hadn't come on yet and nothing good was on. I stretched out my arms and legs, humming in sensation. Maybe I should go and study...?

Just as I thought that, the door opened, catching my attention.

"I'm back" I heard Dojima call, causing Nanako to nearly jump to her feet in joy.

"He's home!" Nanako cheered, walking in front of the television and making her way towards the door by passing by me. Nanako's bright smile suddenly disappeared as she froze, quickly walking towards me. I blinked in confusion at Nanako's sudden behavior when she sat down behind me and grabbed my left arm. I looked over to the door and saw that Dojima wasn't alone. As Dojima enters the house with a slightly apologetic, tired, and irritated face; a familiar man entered as well.

"What's up?" the man smiled, brushing off the awkward atmosphere Nanako was creating. Nanako's grip on my arm tighten.

"Um... Hello" Nanako muttered shyly. Dojima rubbed the back of his head as he looked over at the man next to him.

"We got off work at the same time for once, so I'm giving him a ride back to his place," Dojima explained. "I thought we might as well swing by."

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Tohru Adachi, the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring" the man introduced. Dojima made a face at Adachi, as he began to walk towards Nanako and I.

"I can still work you harder, you know" Dojima said coldly, lifting up a plastic bag in his left hand. I blinked at it in surprise, realizing that it was our dinner. Understandable, since he was home a lot earlier than normal. I didn't even have time to think about making food.

"Haha, good one, Sir! Ha... ha... uh..." Adachi laughed nervously. I looked over to Dojima, thinking that he might have been serious about that. Dojima placed the plastic bag down on the table, revealing four black bento boxes with the Junes logo on the side. Noticing the even number of boxes, I looked over to Adachi.

"Will you be having dinner with us, Adachi-san?" I asked, catching Adachi's attention. He stared at me for a bit, deep in thought as Dojima stood up straight; catching my attention once more.

"Yeah. Hope you don't mind if he does" Dojima said with a slightly apologetic tone. Nanako was too busy being overjoyed at the Junes food to have heard him, so I shook my head in reply for both of us.

"It's fine. Just wash your hands first" I replied. Dojima chuckled a little, a weary smile on his face.

"Yes ma'ma" Dojima chuckled, walking over to Adachi. Dojima patted Adachi's shoulder, causing him to tense up.

"Come on, let's go and wash our hands" Dojima instructed. But Adachi remained silent as he continued to stare at me. I stared back, wondering what he was thinking about. Just the other day we met, before Nise had created a commotion that is. Dojima looked back and forth between Adachi and me before smacking Adachi on the head, earning a yelp of pain.

"That's my niece. She'll be living with me for a year" Dojima growled, trying to sound threatening for some reason. Adachi's face went pale as he rubbed the spot that Dojima had hit. I turned my attention over to Nanako, who was happily taking out the black bento boxes one at a time. I helped her take the bento's out as the two men began to wash their hands.

Once all the bento's were set and the two grown-ups in the room had washed their hands, the four of us began to eat. There was a nice selection of rice with a sour plum in the middle as well as some pickles out in the corner, a variety of fish, vegetables, egg, and meat in the smaller sections.

"Oh, you're in high school right? Well, we found that Amagi girl yesterday! Tell all your friends at school" Adachi chirped after swallowing his food, catching my attention.

"We owe you a lot" I said politely. Dojima and any other officer working on this case really do deserve some praise. Working days on end without the proper treatment your body needs isn't good for anyone. Adachi blinked in surprise at my words, a smile forming on his lips.

"Oh! Well, uh... Thanks!" Adachi said sheepishly, a soft blush coming onto his cheeks. Adachi began to mutter to himself, taking a sip of his tea. I continued to eat, finding the food rather decent. Dojima was scarfing down the food, just glad to be eating a real meal; even if it was store bought. Nanako was happily eating, happy that the food came from Junes.

"But, I have to say... She isn't quite off the hook yet" Adachi began, causing me to stop eating; catching my attention. He was flipping the pages of a little blue notebook, skimming it as he continued, "We were just questioning Ms. Amagi, but she says she doesn't remember anything that happened while she was missing. And that sounds to me like she's _hiding_ something..." I flinched at Adachi's hypothesis, wondering how well of an officer he was. At that moment, Dojima smacked Adachi behind the head.

"Stop blabbering, dumbass! Learn to shut your mouth" Dojima growled. Adachi rubbed his head for the second time this evening, if not more.

"Okay, I'm sorry..." Adachi apologized sadly, slouching. After hearing Adachi's apology, I began to eat again, thinking that he dropped the whole suspicion with Amagi. Dojima looked over at me with a normal face, his stern face disappeared.

"Now that the missing person's case we had is actually _settled down_ " Dojima began. "Looks like I can finally take a well earned break during golden week. Around the 4th and the 5th." Nanako gasped a the news, a surprised look on her face.

"Really?" Nanako asked, wanting to make sure she didn't hear it wrong.

"Yep. Is there anywhere you want to go?" Dojima asked, nodding at Nanako. He looked back over to me, raising an eyebrow. "You're going to have at least one day you can take off, aren't ya?" I swallowed the food in my mouth, blinking at him with a blank look.

"For golden week? I believe so..." I replied, a little uncertain. Nanako suddenly gasped excitedly, bouncing up and down, catching everyone's attention.

"Let's have a picnic lunch!" Nanako giggled, causing Dojima to smile.

"Sounds good. We've been eating enough processed food as it is" Dojima chukled. His smile slowly drifted as he sighed in shame. "If only I was better at cooking healthy stuff for ya..." Adachi laughed as he patted my head, causing me to nearly choke at his sudden actions.

"Isn't that what this girl is here for?" Adachi laughed. I swallowed my food and huffed in surprise. Adachi looked over at me with a bright smile. "Right?"

"Who, me?" I asked, a faintly surprised look on my face. Dojima smacked Adachi on the back of the head once again, a recalling look on his face as Adachi yelped. Dojima is rather violent, isn't he?

"Oh yeah, that's right. Didn't you make that small fish meal a few days back?" Dojima asked. I stared at him for a moment, trying to recall what he was talking about. I suddenly remembered about the meal I cooked after my first day of school.

"Ah, yeah... That's right" I muttered, returning my attention to my food. Dojima smiled as he pointed his chopsticks towards me.

"Well then, making picnic baskets are now _your_ responsibility" Dojima said with a smile before returning to his food. I blinked nervously at the sudden responsibility, slouching in defeat.

"Okay, I'll do what I can..." I muttered, slowly picking at my food.

"And for our picnic, we can all go to Junes!" Nanako cheered. I looked up at her as she began to squirm happily, mixing her rice with the sour plum. "Junes! Junes Junes Junes!"

"Junes...?" Dojima muttered, questionably. Dinner was most certainly energetic tonight.

* * *

 ** _Wednesday, April 20th_ | Morning...**

"All right, alllllll right! Settle down, now. Class is now in session."

I stared at the male teacher standing in front of the class. He seems to be an elderly looking man with white spiky hair and a wide forehead. He was also wearing large, thick round glasses that covered his eyes. At a first glance, he seemed a little dull and had a hand puppet on his right hand. The puppet looked much like him, with the addition of a red bowtie.

"My name is Mr. Hosoi and in this class you'll be learning about contemporary writing. Let's all have fun" Hosoi said to the class. I nodded at his positive behavior while taking out my writing notebook. I pulled out my mechanical pencil, opening my notebook to a blank page; ready to take notes.

"I know this is off-topic, but what's the point of applying for colleges outside Inaba? Why even bother? Nothing good ever comes out of competing with city-folk. The countryside is all you need" Hosoi rambled.

"Well, since this is our very first lesson, why don't you show me how much you already know!" Mr. Hosoi began, with a small smile. "Now, then… How many parts are there in Murakami's 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'?" Hosoi scanned the room, finding a victim.

"Hana-chan! I'm calling on you! I get the feeling you're not much of a reader" Hosoi called out, causing some of the students to look behind me to Hanamura.

"Hey! I read!" Hanamura replied, rather quickly. "I mean, not books, but..." I felt a tap on my shoulder, causing me to look over my shoulder. Hanamura had a desperate look on his face, slightly pale.

"Narukami-chan! C'mon, help me here!" Hanamura begged softly, making sure no one heard him. I leaned back as I looked forward again.

"Three" I whispered. Hanamura nodded and quickly told Hosoi the answer I gave him.

"Very good, Hana-chan!" Mr. Hosoi praised. It seems he didn't notice the answer I gave Hanamura. "Either you're more literary than you look, or that was a lucky guess." Hanamura laughed nervously at that.

"'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' was released as three separate stories," Mr. Hosoi began to explain. "It's the eighth of his twelve published books. His latest book, '1Q84,' was published in 2009. Its first printing sold out on the very first day of sale! And, of course, that's not counting all his short stories and essays, which I don't have time to get into right now." Hanamura sighed in relief, catching my attention. He smiled wearily at me as he winked at me.

"You're a lifesaver, Narukami-chan, thanks" Hanamura whispered.

"Try to read some more books, Hanamura" I said with a nod. Hanamura groaned softly in defeat as he nodded.

* * *

 ** _Lunchtime..._**

I finished the remaining curry bread in my mouth, swallowing as I began to make my way to the second floor stairway. I usually go to the cafeteria to buy some Mellon or curry bread for lunch. Then I'd head back to the classroom and chill there. The hallways are pretty quiet during this time because they're all hanging out on the rooftop or in the cafeteria.

As I made my way up the stairs, I noticed Ebihara all down them, his bag being carried over his left shoulder. Noticing me, Ebihara rose an eyebrow.

"Well now, if it isn't the new recruit" Ebihara said with an amused tone. I blinked at him as he made his way past me.

"Your name is... Ebi-kun right?" I asked, recalling a few of the girls I my class calling him that. Ebihara scoffed as he glances at me.

"To some people" Ebihara said coldly as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "To you, it's Aki Ebi _hara_." I nodded taking a mental note of his name as I continued to climb up the stairs.

"Actually... Hey, new chick" I heard Ebihara call out, causing me to stop and turn around. Ebihara had a small smile on his face, as his free hand tucked itself into his pocket.

"What do you say you ditch the remaining time of lunch with me?" Ebihara asked. I blinked in surprise at his offer.

"The team asked me to go get a few things for them, see. I could use another pair of hands" Ebihara explained. "You _are_ a team player, right?" I blinked a few times, wondering that to do. Since its for the team... I suppose it wouldn't hurt. We might be able to make it back before lunch is over. I nodded, telling Ebihara that I'll go. Ebihara smirked as he did a thumbs up.

* * *

3rd POV

Hitomi was baffled by the large city she and Aki walked in. It wasn't as big as Tokyo, but after spending time in Inaba; it felt slightly nostalgic. The duo had to take a train, which took about ten minutes. Because school was in session, it wasn't very crowded, allowing the two teens to grab a seat. The place is called, Okina City, which is the nearest big city to Inaba. The first place that Aki took Hitomi was a store called, Croco Fur. Aki browsed through the clothing's, trying on an outfit or two.

"Whoa" Aki exclaimed as he took out an outfit. It was a rather showy dress, a low cut in the middle that made it's way to the stomach, just above the belly button. From the upper thighs down, the sides of the dress flapping open. Aki held it up, showing him and Hitomi that the aqua blue fabric was thin and faintly see through. Aki held the dress in his hands as he turned around to face Hitomi. He smirked as he offered the dress to her.

"Wanna try it on?" Aki said in a sly tone, causing Hitomi's face to explode red. Aki laughed uncontrollably at Hitomi's straight, yet red face.

The two of them continued to walk around the store, Aki completely forgetting about school. Aki just wanted to ditch the remainder of school and go shopping for anything to make him more appealing. But after hanging out with Hitomi, he started to have fun.

After window shopping for a bit more, the two of them decided to buy something over at Starbucks before returning to school. Well, Aki was the one who wanted some coffee.

"The basketball team sure needs some strange things..." Hitomi said as she fiddled with a napkin. Aki laughed a little, finding her denseness amusing.

"That was _obviously_ a lie" Aki snickered. Hitomi blinked in surprise, her eyes still glued to her napkin.

"Really?" Hitomi asked. "Then what was the purpose of brining me?" Aki blinked in surprise. He thought about it for a minute, trying to figure a reason why he _did_ ask her to come. His whole purpose was for her to carry some things, but in the end she didn't even lift a finger.

"Meh, details. Who cares!" Aki said with a scoff, picking up his ice coffee. "Doesn't it feel good to be out? Everybody else is stuck inside at school with their stupid studies. That's what makes this so much fun!" Hitomi nodded in agreement as she continued to fiddle with the napkin, almost turning it into a paper crane.

"It is a nice change. I've never 'ditched school' before" Hitomi admitted as Aki took a gulp of his drink. Aki blinked in surprise at Hitomi's confession, a genuine smile forming on his lips.

"Wow, so you totally get it. And here I thought you were nothing more than a boring square" Aki huffed. Hitomi didn't respond as she focused on finishing her paper crane.

"Ah, hey before you start getting the wrong idea" Aki began, not noticing Hitomi's concentration as he took a gulp of his coffee once again. "Its not like I do this all the time. Since the school started keeping track of my attendance and behavior record, I've been a good boy." After a pause of silence, Aki noticed Hitomi's intense concentration. Aki placed his drink down and stared at her in confusion.

"Just what are you making over there?" Aki asked after a moment. Hitomi finished her paper crane, lifting it up to her lips. Gently, she blew on the paper crane to puff it out.

"What? Did you seriously just make that out of a _napkin_?" Aki asked before bursting out in laughter. Hitomi placed her paper crane down, exchanging it with her coffee for a sip. Aki rested his head on his left hand, a smile plastered on his face.

"You're different from the other girls at school. I may actually like _you_ " Aki admitted, raising an eyebrow in interest. Hitomi blinked in surprise, the coffee cup still attached to her lips.

"We should get together again. But next time, it really should be _after_ school. Agreed?" Aki suggested, winking. Hitomi nodded in agreement, taking another sip of her drink. Once the two of them finished their drinks, they rushed back to school just in time before school was over.

* * *

 ** _Thursday, April 21st_**

Hitomi's POV

I walked down the stairway to the first floor to head over to the cafeteria. The bell had just rung for lunch, so the hallways were filled with students. Hanamura and Nise had already rushed over to the cafeteria. Unlike the two of them, I wasn't all that hungry or urgent to get food seeing as how I only eat bread from the vending machines.

"Oh hey, if it isn't my favorite teammate!" I heard a familiar high pitched voice call out. I looked over my shoulder, noticing Ichijo walking towards me though the crowds of people. I walked over to a corner of the hallway where not too many people were passing by. I didn't want to stop abruptly in the middle of the hallway and cause traffic. Ichijo caught up to me and smiled.

"Hello Ichijo-san" I greeted. Ichijo laughed nervously, a blush creeping on to her face.

"Hey, no need for formalities! 'Kou' is fine by me" Ichijo giggled, flicking her wrist. I nodded, finding it alright.

"Note taken" I said, rubbing the back of my neck. Kou smiled as she pointed weakly at me.

"It's fine if I can call you Hitomi-chan, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. No formalities, right?" I said with a nod, causing Kou's smile to widen.

"Cool!" Kou giggled. She suddenly gasped as she remembered something. "Oh! Right, I wanted to remind you that we have practice today after school. You better be there!" I nodded, causing her to smile before dashing off to the cafeteria. I walked back into the crowded hallway's, making my way to the cafeteria as well for my bread. Let's see, should I have curry or melon bread today...?

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

The same people from last time were present in the gym, passing balls with each other. We were all changed into appropriate attire. I wore a light blue tank top with white rims, along with black shorts. I passed a ball with Kou due to her persistence on wanting to see how good I was. With the basket ball in my hand, I forcefully passed the ball over to Kou, causing her to smile as she caught it.

"Hey, nice pass! Looking good!" Kou chirped as she passed the ball. I caught it in my hands, feeling the force Kou had put in it. I nodded a thanks before passing the ball back again.

"What, no team manager?" a girl on Kou's row asked, a bored look on her face.

"That guy is the only reason I even come to practice" the girl next to her admitted as Kou passed the ball back to me. Kou flinched at the girl's confession, passing the ball more gently this time.

"Yeah me too! He's probably flirting with a bunch of girls right now. That guy is _super_ easy" the first girl snickered, a smirk on her face as the others besides from Kou and me laughed. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the two girls, finding it strange how they could talk about Ebihara like that. After all, as women; they're the ones who get talked about like this. It sometimes happens to guys, but it's mostly a girl thing. To be called 'super easy'. Not that I know what that means.

"I heard that he has a few sugar mama's!" the girl next to me sneered. She looked at me and started laughing, thinking that I would join. I raised an eyebrow at her as I held the ball.

"Dude with that face, that body, and those abs?! Of course he's going to have a few sugar mama's!" the girl next to Kou scoffed, as if it was the basics of breathing. Kou glared at the girl, placing a hand on her hip.

"Hey, knock it off would ya?!" Kou snapped. "Don't go making up a bunch of crap about him! That's not cool!" The girl next to Kou winked as she waved her hand in front of her face, telling Kou to calm down.

"No girl, it's true! I heard-" the girl began before abruptly stopping, her face turning pale. Everyone turned their attention over to the open double doors and saw Ebihara standing there, a blank look on his face. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became _very_ heavy as Ebihara's eyes practically started shooting daggers at everyone. After a small pause, Ebihara turned around, ready to leave. Kou extended her hand out to him, a nervous look on her face.

"Uh, hey-!" Kou began, only to be cut off by a glare from Ebihara. Kou flinched at Ebihara's eyes and froze in place. Once Ebihara left the room, the girls started to panic slightly in fear. With a silent sigh, I dropped the basketball down to the ground and jogged out the gym. I was able to caught up with Ebihara near the bike racks.

"Ebihara-san, wait up" I called out, catching his attention. "Are you alright? I know that stuff like that doesn't really happen with guys... You don't feel _too_ uncomfortable by that, are you?" Ebihara tied his hands behind his head, a long sigh escaping.

"They're always like that, I'm pretty much used to it by now. I'm fine, really. No biggy" Ebihara explained. There was a small pause as Ebihara thought for a moment.

"To be honest..." Ebihara began, a smile slowly forming. "I kinda think its awesome...!" I froze at Ebihara's words, wondering if he had recently been in an accident over the past 15 hours. Ebihara looked at me with a blushed face, eyes twinkling.

"I love it! I find it flattering!" Ebihara exclaimed, facing me with hands rolled into fists. His blushed face became more red as he looked down at the ground, somewhat embarrassed.

"Ya see, I have the hot's for..." Ebihara began, causing me to blink in surprise. Ebihara's face burned a new shade of red as he smiled brightly. "For Ichijo-chan, she's so cute!" I stared at him for a moment before nodding hesitantly.

"Um... Sure, she is...?" I said uncertainly. People are active in their own way, but there was something about Ebihara's behavior and tone that suggested a different topic.

"She tries to act tough and stuff, when she's really an airhead. She's always so happy and nice, she even stood up for me form those girls back there!" Ebihara began to ramble. "Hey, you two are pretty close right? Do you think I'm her type? Do you think she has eyes on anyone else?!" I stared at him with slightly confused eyes, tilting my head. After a moment I shrugged, closing my eyes.

"I don't know" I replied bluntly. Suddenly, both of my hands were grabbed, causing my eyes to shoot open. Ebihara had a happy yet pleading look on his face as he held my hands, leaning his face slightly closer to mine.

"Please, you gotta help me out here! You're the only one I can turn to!" Ebihara exclaimed, his face turning brighter. "Find out if she likes anybody or not, got it?!" I blinked in surprise, sweat staring to form. I nodded hesitantly, not entirely knowing what was going on. Ebihara cheered as he let go of my hands.

"Aw man, thanks Narukami! You're a pretty awesome chick!" Ebihara cheered, giving me a thumbs up. "I'm going to wait until practice is over. You guys are going to have to put the balls back, so I'll hide in the jumping mat while you put them back!" Ebihara laughed to himself as he walked over to the main building, leaving me completely dumbfounded by the events. After a moment, I sighed before returning back to the gym for the rest of practice.

Once practice was over, the rest of the team members left, leaving only Kou and I alone to clean up. We gathered up all th basketballs the team left behind, pushing the ball filled carts towards the storage room. Ebihara must already be in there, so now should be the time to ask her...

"Hey, Kou-chan? May I ask you a question?" I asked, causing Kou to look over her shoulder at me.

"What's up?" Kou asked. I hesitated for a moment as I held the door open for her to push her ball cart inside. I cleared my throat as I tried to find the proper words for this.

"Um... Do you like anyone?" I asked, using the words Ebihara used. Kou squeaked at my words as I began to push my cart inside the room. Kou rubbed the back of her head as her face turned red.

"D-Do I like anybody? Wh-What brought that on?" Kou asked, her voice nearly cracking. I stopped the ball cart in front of the jumping mat, where Ebihara was supposedly hiding in.

"So... You don't?" I asked, noticing Kou's discomfort. Kou's face turned even more red as she stammered strange sounds, unable to find the right words.

"Oh perfect... You're not going to let this go, are you?" Kou sighed, rubbing the back of her head once more.

"A-Alright, but I'm only telling you this because I trust you. Don't tell him! In fact, don't tell _anybody_!" Kou said with a serious tone, almost glaring at me. I nodded, accepting her conditions. A suspenseful silence filled the room as Ku took a deep breath.

"... I-I..." Kou began. Her face exploded red as her hands tightened up into fists. "I-I like Nise-kun, okay?! I LIKE NISE-KUN!" I jumped at Kou's loud voice, finding it unnecessary to shout like that. Kou turned her attention to me, her face looking like a ripe tomato.

"And while I'm at it, let me tell you, I'm _so_ jealous that you sit next to him everyday in class! It's so unfair!" Kou squeaked with a pout. I blinked nervously, rubbing the back of my neck.

"I'm, um, sorry?" I replied, confused at what was happening. Kou puffed out her cheeks as she suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing our faces close.

"Look Hitomi-chan, now that you know, you gotta put in a good word for me!" Kou said with a serious tone, almost sending shivers down my spine. I froze at Kou's words as she let go of my neck.

"I'm gonna go change! See ya later, Hitomi-chan" Kou chirped as she quickly left the room. After a moment, the top of the jumping mat slowly rose up, Ebihara's sad eyes popping out. Ebihara and I stared at each other as a heavy silence filled the room.

"Um..." I began, trying to break the silence. "...Are you alright?" Ebihara said nothing for a moment before standing up fully, getting out of the jump mat.

"I'm fine. Guys don't get emotional about stuff like this, ya know?" Ebihara muttered, placing the jumping mat lid back on. Ebihara calmly walked towards the door, patting my head as he walked by.

"Thanks for your help..." Ebihara muttered, opening one of the doors. I stared after him as he exited the room. After a moment, Ebihara started to sprint. I gasped at his sudden actions, feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Ebihara-san!" I called out as I ran after him. I chased Ebihara down, nearly slipping every now and then when I made sharp turns. I fallowed Ebihara up to the school top, where Ebihara began to climb the fence.

"I'M GONNA KILL MYSELF!" Ebihara cried out, unsteadily climbing up the fence. I ran over to him and grabbed his waist, trying to pull him down.

"Ebihara-san, please calm down!" I said nervously, putting all my strength into pulling him down.

"I know that Nise guy! Nise Satonaka, that stupid girly man!" Ebihara shouted, his voice cracking. "I'm so much hotter than he'll ever be!" Ebihara started to climb up some more, my hands slipping from the uniform.

"You have to calm down!" I said a little louder, trying to get to him. But he continued to climb, almost reaching the top. My hands struggled to grab something to pull him down, slipping at the fabric. I gritted my teeth as I got closer to Ebihara's body, wrapping my arms around his legs. He let out a sudden yelp as I managed to pull him down. But soon, Ebihara's body started to fall backwards, causing me to fall backwards as well. Ebihara and I both let out a squeak as we fell back, our backs hitting the ground. I let out a small groan as I sat up, quickly turning around to glare at Ebihara.

"Ebihara-san, think how your parents would feel. You aren't thinking straight" I growled a little, as Ebihara stared at me with a faintly red face. After a moment, Ebihara covered his face with his right hands, pressing his lips together.

"So she... Doesn't eve notice me?" Ebihara asked suddenly, his tone sounding sad. I blinked in surprise at his sudden words. "But... I'm so hot now... I worked really hard to look like this..." I flinched in surprise as small tears began to fall down the sides of his face.

"But she..." Ebihara continued, letting out a sob. "Doesn't love me at all! So what's the point?!" I stared at Ebihara, my eyes softening. I gently grabbed his arms, slowly pulling him up so that he could breath properly while Ebihara continued to cover his eyes.

"I'm sorry..." I muttered, trying to comfort him. Ebihara flinched at my words, shortly breaking down after words. Ebihara continued to cry like an infant for a while, trying to stop himself every now and then only to have new tears fall down.

"You see..." Ebihara began once he managed to find his voice again. "I used to be fat and ugly... Everyone in my class would tease me." Ebihara continued to hide his eyes from me as he sniffled, slowly regaining his composure.

"All my classmates would gang up on me and call me... 'Fat-ki' or 'Piggy-hara'..." Ebihara sniffed. "As a guy, it really hurt my self-esteem and pride. So I got sick of it and starved myself, finding ways to be sexy and popular. But in the end, no one likes me." Ebihara's breathing hitched as he took a shuddered breath, tears starting to fall again.

"Why won't they like me...?" Ebihara sobbed, followed by a sniffle. I stared at him with pitiful eyes, unsure how to comfort him.

"I get it, you worked hard for this" I said, thinking it was appropriate. Ebihara laughed a little, while sniffling.

"You're one hell of a girl, you know that?" Ebihara chuckled, wiping away his tears with his sleeve. He looked away from me, a small grin on his face.

"Sorry about that whole crying thing... It wasn't very cool of me, huh?" Ebihara laughed wearily. I shook my head in disagreement.

"I think it's admirable for a man to cry. They have it a lot tougher than girls. So don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone who'll like you soon" I said gently, unaffected by Ebihara's crying. Ebihara flinched and looked at me with wide eyes, a surprised look on his face. I noticed how red his eyes and nose were from all that crying and rubbing. After a moment he snickered, a small smile forming on his face.

"You're really nice... I wish I had fallen for someone like you instead" Ebihara joked.

"Uh, thanks..." I muttered, while blushing a bit at his words as I looked to the left, feeling shy. I quickly shook off the feeling as I stood up.

"We should head back. I still need to change and lock up the gym..." I apologized, thinking that leaving at a time like this was rude. As I stood up, I suddenly felt my right hand being grabbed, causing me to stop.

"Hey, wait a minute" Ebihara began, catching my attention. "Why don't we... Start seeing each other?" My face brightened as my eyes widened slightly. Still holding my hand, Ebihara locked eyes with mine as he stood up.

"If you mean what you said, you'll do this" Ebihara began, his voice turning serious. "Until I can find the girl I want, I want you to act like you love me." I felt all the blood drain from my face at his order, taking a step back.

"H-Huh?!" I stammered, completely stunned by Ebihara's quick recovery. Ebihara practically glared at me as he slammed his other hand on to the fence, pushing me back as well.

"Do it! Or I'll kill myself!" Ebihara threatened. I stared at him with surprised and nervous eyes, not sure how to cooperate with this. In a way, this was blackmail isn't it? I'm not used to this whole 'love' situation... What if I don't get it right and mess it up? I snapped out of my thoughts as Ebihara's face started to slowly approach me.

"Show me your love, I want it" he cooed, causing my face to explode red. I ducked from underneath him, turning around towards him now that we weren't only inches apart.

"S-S-Sorry! I-I really need to change back to my uniform! A-And I also need to head home, so-!" I stuttered, slowly walking backwards to the rooftop door. Ebihara stared at me with a surprised look before it slowly turned into a mischievous one.

"Then I'll walk you home!" Ebihara chirped. I felt the tip of my ears burning as I waved my hands in front of my face furiously.

"N-No! I-It's fine! It's not that far away! Th-Thanks though!" I stuttered before turning around and running towards the door. Hopefully, all of this was just some sort of prank.

* * *

 ** _Friday, April 22nd_**

3rd POV

It was a sunny day this Friday morning as Hitomi silently walked down the Samegawa Flood Plain, other student's conversation going in one ear and slipping though the other. It's been a while since it was this sunny in Inaba. The sun rays felt rather nice on Hitomi's clothed skin. At the crossroad of the Samegawa, Yosuke and Nise were talking with one another as they turned the corner.

"Huh? Oh hey, Narukami-chan!" Yosuke called out, recognizing the familiar head of silver hair. Hitomi turned around at the sound of Yosuke's voice. A smile came across Yosuke and Nise's face at Hitomi once she locked eyes with them.

"Good morning to ya!" Nise cheered as he waved at Hitomi his smile brightening. Hitomi stopped walking, making it easy for them to catch up.

"Oh, hey. Good mornin-" Hitomi began, but then was abruptly cut off by a call of her name. Hitomi froze as the blood in her face drained. Yosuke and Nise turned around to see who was calling for Hitomi, students nearby slowing down to see what the commotion was about. Soon, girl's eyes widened as they saw Aki, a wide grin on his face as he speed walked towards Hitomi.

"Hey, Hitomi!" Aki called, pushing Yosuke and Nise out of the way. Hitomi took a step back with a pale face as he linked arms with her. Nearby students jaw's dropped at the action the popular boy shared with the transfer student.

"Come on, let's go ditch school today and hang out! I'll take ya shopping, my treat!" Ebihara chirped as he started to drag the silver-haired student away from her original destination.

"I-I can't skip out on school! H-Hey, wait a minute! I-I have a math test today!" Hitomi stammered, causing Yosuke and Nise's eyes to widened. That might have been the first time they have heard Hitomi, they're calm and collected leader, struggle to say words.

"Isn't that the new kid?" a girl in Hitomi's class asked, her eyes looking as if they were about to pop out.

"Is she going out with _Aki_ _Ebihara_?!" the girl's friend asked, her mouth dangling in shock. Yosuke and Nise felt their blood boil at the girl's suggestions, glaring daggers at Aki's back.

"Just when did the two of them hook up?" Yosuke growled softly. Nise didn't say anything as he continued to glare at the two. Nise scoffed as he turned around, tying his hands behind his back and closing his eyes.

"Who cares. Come on, we'll be late" Nise huffed as he began to walk to school. Yosuke watched Nise walk to school, glaring once more at Aki before fallowing Nise in defeat.

* * *

"You wanted hot chocolate with whipped cream right?" Aki chirped as he handed a small cup to Hitomi. Aki had dragged Hitomi over to Okina City once again, heading straight over to Starbucks. Hitomi hesitantly nodded, taking the cup from his hands.

"Um, thank you..." Hitomi thanked softly, worried about what will happen tomorrow. Aki placed his hand on Hitomi's head as he leaned in towards her.

"Can I get an 'I love you' as a thanks?" Aki cooed, causing Hitomi's face to explode red. Aki chuckled a little at Hitomi's straight expression, a blush of his own forming.

"I'm waiting~! Come on, say it!" Aki chirped, causing Hitomi to slouch a bit. Her face twitched nervously as she looked away.

"I-I can't..." Hitomi stammered, closing her eyes. Aki laughed at Hitomi's response, causing her to blush a little in embarrassment. She wasn't used to this and it made her a little uncomfortable seeing as how this was all forced.

After Hitomi had finished her drink, Aki dragged her to the movie theater "30 Frame". Aki decided to watch an action movie since Hitomi couldn't choose. They had arrived pretty early before the movie could actually start with 20 minutes to spare. So Aki dragged Hitomi into a picture booth.

"What do you want on it?" Aki asked as he wrote something near the bottom. Hitomi blinked in confusion at Aki's question.

"Huh? What do I want on it?" Hitomi asked. Aki nodded as he looked over his shoulder at her, waiting for a reply. Hitomi tilted her head a little as she rose an eyebrow. "Um... A clear picture?" Aki stared at Hitomi in surprise before laughing uncontrollably. Hitomi sighed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her neck. Aki wiped the tears from laughing to hard out of his eyes as he decided to put a sparkly border around the frame. Once the border was set up, Aki got behind Hitomi and wrapped his arms around her neck, causing her to blush.

"You barely go out, huh?" Aki asked, a chuckle escaping. Hitomi glanced over at him, her eyebrows twitching nervously.

"Um... Well I got out, but never like this before" Hitomi replied softly, her voice cracking. Aki chuckled at Hitomi's response hugging her more tightly but not enough to hurt her. Before the timer showed up, Aki came up with an idea and smiled mischievously at Hitomi who was staring blankly at the camera lenses.

"Hey, let's make out" Aki cooed, resting his chin on top of his arms, his cheek touching Hitomi's. Hitomi's face paled as her eyes widened a little, looking at Aki now.

"What?" Hitomi squeaked, completely baffled by Aki's boldness. Aki smirked at Hitomi's response and poked her nose.

"It's okay. No one is watching, and we _are_ dating after all" Aki chuckled. Before Hitomi could respond, Aki started to draw his face closer to her. Hitomi began to panic silently, not knowing what to do.

"I-I can't, I can't!" Hitomi protested as their faces became uncomfortably close. Hitomi looked away and started to squirm out of Aki's grasp, the photo booth taking their pictures all the while. Once the photo's were done, Aki laughed uncontrollably as they printed out. Hitomi covered her face in embarrassment as she sat in the corner of the photo booth. Aki was _actually_ having fun hanging out with Hitomi. Her face remained straight and expressionless, but her tone showed her true emotions which made Aki laugh. It was especially fun teasing Hitomi the way she was.

"Hey! The pictures turned out great!" Aki laughed, holding the finished small picture rolls in his hands. Hitomi didn't respond, causing Aki to blink in surprise. He peeked inside the photo booth and saw that Hitomi was still sulking in the corner. Aki rested his shoulder on the side of the booth, raising an eyebrow at Hitomi's behavior.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Aki asked. Hitomi didn't reply. Aki stared at her in surprise, amazed at how upset she was at him.

"...Teasing people isn't very nice Ebihara-san" Hitomi muttered after a moment. Aki blinked in surprise, startled by Hitomi's soft response. After a moment, a soft blush came across Aki's face. He let out a silent sigh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Um... Sorry. I'll lay off the teasing" Aki said with a scratched throat, causing him to shortly clear it. Hitomi slowly looked over her shoulder, to see if he was lying or not. Aki's face brightened up some more as he looked away. Hitomi stared at him a little longer before standing up and walking out of the booth.

"...You'll stop?" Hitomi asked once more, catching Aki's attention. Aki hesitantly nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah, I mean... I'll _try_ to" Aki muttered. Hitomi stared at him for a bit before nodding.

"Thank you, Ebihara-san" Hitomi said, causing Aki's face to burn red. He knew that Hitomi wasn't smiling, but for some reason he pictured a cute little smile on Hitomi's face from her tone.

* * *

 ** _Saturday, April 23rd_**

Hitomi sulked at her desk, recalling the scolding that she and Aki got from Morooka. Morooka was mostly upset at Aki rather than Hitomi, saying that Aki shouldn't drag innocent girls like her away from school. She tried to push the memory away as she took out her history notebook, listening to a lecture from a female teacher named Sofue.

"Well then, I'll begin my lecture on the Age of Discovery, which occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries" Sofue began, eagerly. "Many types of vegetation were introduced to Europe during this era. Among them, tulips from Turkey deserve special attention. Gardening for pleasure was becoming popular, causing the price of tulip bulbs to rise. It was the world's first economic bubble incident: 'Tulip mania.' Along with the South Sea Bubble and the Mississippi Company, it is said to be one of the biggest bubbles in European history."

"Hey!" Sofue suddenly shouted, pointing her encryption rod at Yosuke. "Mr. Hanamura, wake up! What was the first economic bubble incident in the world?" Hitomi looked over her shoulder to see Yosuke jolt in his seat.

"Ngh?! What?" Yosuke asked, blinking his eyes to help his vision focus. Sofue looked expectantly at Yosuke, who looked to Hitomi for help. Hitomi looked forward, placing her hand to the back of her neck. She slowly began to spell out a few words, which Yosuke concentrated on translating.

"Tulip mania...?" Yosuke guessed, putting Hitomi's words together.

"Hmm, so you were actually listening" Sofue hummed, satisfied with Yosuke's answer. "Yes, it was tulip mania. Tulip bulbs imported into Holland became extremely, and prices jumped dramatically as a result. At its highest, a single bulb was worth the price of a luxurious house. However, once the bubble burst, prices fell once again, and the trade cities in Holland were thrown into confusion." Yosuke sighed as he rubbed his eyes, relieved that he translated Hitomi's words correctly.

"Mr. Hanamura, do take care to not let that snot-bubble of yours burst, or you may also be thrown into confusion" Sofue laughed, joking with Yosuke. A few of the students began to chuckle as Yosuke blushed a little.

"I'm not making snot bubbles!" Yosuke replied. "Anyway, I was right, wasn't I?" Hitomi sighed as she went back to writing down her notes. Hearing Hitomi's sigh Nise glanced at her in confusion. It wasn't everyday that Hitomi sighed so loudly. Hitomi felt a tap on her shoulder and looked over to see Yosuke smiling at her.

"Thanks, Narukami-chan" Yosuke whispered, clearly grateful for her help. Taking care of Yosuke was starting to become a part of Hitomi's school life. "I'll have to stay awake for the next one." Hitomi nodded slowly before looking back at her notes, sighing. Yosuke and Nise stared at the silver-haired girl in confusion, unsure what was wrong with her.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

"Hey Narukami-chan" Yosuke called out to the sulking girl as he and Nise walked over to her. "We're goanna meet up at Junes's food court after school today."

"We need to sit down and review those cases" Nise explained, crossing his arms with a smile. Hitomi sighed softly as she lowered her head.

"Yeah, right... We need to do that..." Hitomi muttered. Nise and Yosuke blinked in surprise at the sulking girl, recalling that she was like this earlier this morning too.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Nise asked, uncrossing his arms. Hitomi didn't reply. Yosuke rubbed the top of Hitomi's head, leaning in towards her slightly.

"You aren't feeling good or something?" Yosuke asked. Hitomi shook her head slightly. Nise and Yosuke exchanged glances, concerned about their leader's strange behavior. Suddenly, a dark and slightly creepy ringtone went off, causing Hitomi to freeze. Yosuke blinked in surprise, seeing her iPhone going off inside her desk.

"Uh... You're not gonna get that?" Yosuke asked, removing his hand from her head and standing up straight. Hitomi flinched at Yosuke's words and gulped.

"O-Oh yeah... Right..." Hitomi stammered, causing Yosuke and Nise's eyes to widen. This was the second time that their leader struggled with words. They would have considered this cute if it weren't for Hitomi's frightened atmosphere.

"Hello...?" Hitomi muttered into her iPhone, her eyes closed with slight fear.

" _Hey! If it isn't my girl! You sure take your time picking up, making me wait three rings_ " Aki said on his side of his iPhone, a grin widening on his face. Hitomi quickly ended the call, putting the iPhone on top of her desk. The trio went silent as the boys stared at the silver-haired girl.

"What was that about?" Yosuke finally asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. Hitomi flinched at Yosuke's words and glanced down to the ground.

"Oh, n-nothing... Much..." Hitomi stuttered. She gulped loudly as she fidgeted, thinking what to do. After a moment, Hitomi grabbed her iPhone and her bag, dialing someone's number as she walked towards the door. Nise and Yosuke watched Hitomi walk off, dialing the numbers with shaky fingers.

"Hey, Narukami-chan! Where ya goin'?" Nise called out. Hitomi didn't reply as she put her cell device next to her ear, struggling to open the door. Once Hitomi was out of the room, Nise stared at the door with shocked eyes, that almost looked betrayed.

"Did she just blow me off?" Nise asked, tying his hand behind his head. "That was pretty weird..." A thought came into Nise's head as he scrunched up his face in anger and disgust.

"Oh, I bet it was Ebihara who was calling her" Nise muttered.

"Ebihara?" Yosuke raised an eyebrow at the now closed door, crossing his arms. "What the hell is he doing to make Narukami-chan so wound up like that?" Nise went silent for a moment before scoffing, turning around from the door Hitomi exited.

"Whatever. Come on, let's go" Nise grumbled, catching Yosuke's attention.

"Huh? We're going on without her?" Yosuke asked, not wanting to leave. He preferred to go spy on Hitomi and Aki right now.

"I'm in the mood for some steak. We'll just chill today since Narukami-chan's out" Nise began. He looked over his shoulder, through his vented arms and looked at Yosuke. "And you're buying!" Yosuke lowered his head in defeat, letting out an exhausted groan.

"Of course I am..." Yosuke muttered.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, April 24th_**

Hitomi's POV

I walked down the road of the central district secretly, hoping not to run into Ebihara. Nanako was out playing with a few of her classmates, giving me the opportunity to go to June's and buy ingredients for dinner tonight.

To my surprise, Ebihara has been a lot kinder to me. He hasn't been teasing me as much, which is a good thing. But at the same time, he has also become rather protective of me. He somehow found where the Dojima's lived and tries to walk me home. He also insisted that I text him everything I'm doing. I'm a bit nervous because of him now. What if Dojima sees the two of us together and think we are in an intimate relationship? It would be rather troublesome to explain to him that I was only helping Ebihara emotionally recover from his one sided feelings.

As I stealthily walked through the central district, keeping my head low, I noticed Nagase walking alone.

"Hm? Oh, if it isn't the new basketball player" Nagase said with a surprised tone, noticing my presence. I walked over to her with a slightly surprised look.

"Good afternoon, Nagase-san. What are you doing here?" I asked, a little curious as to why she was by herself. Nagase was wearing athletic attire today with tight black shorts, a large black and a white striped v-neck t-shirt.

"Uh well..." Nagase began, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I was going to hang out with Ichijo today, but she had to go to the 'Mighty house of Ichijo's' today. I was just walking around, trying to find something to do." I nodded, taking in her information. Nagase started to stare at me with questioning eyes, causing the air between us to become slightly intense. I blinked in surprise at her intent staring, a soft blush forming on my cheeks. After a moment, Nagase looked at me straight in the eyes, her expression becoming serious.

"Hey, do you have a moment? I could really use your help with something" Nagase said sternly, causing me to straighten up.

"Um... Sure" I replied, sensing the tension she had in her words. Nagase looked around and pointed over to the left. I followed her finger and saw that she was pointing to the popular Chinese restaurant, "Aiya".

"Wanna grab something to eat? We'll split it" Nagase suggested. I frowned faintly at the Chinese restaurant. I had only brought enough money for tonight's dinner. If I waste even a small portion, I won't have enough. Well, guess I'll just buy a to-go for Nanako. I looked back over to Nagase and nodded.

"Alright then, let's go!" Nagase chirped as the two of us cautiously crossed the street.

The first thing that caught my attention was the heavy aroma of meat, seafood, noodles, and different kinds of broth. The room was decorated with many different kinds of Chinese artifacts as well as Japanese. The store was rather small and right in the middle that instantly caught your eye was the main serving counter where a man with round glasses and a small mustache worked at. There were several oak wooden tables along the walls with red cushions on top of the chairs. It seemed like a nice place. They certainly like the color red. Nagase walked over to the first stool connected to the counter in front of us, taking a seat. I followed her to the second stool next to her on her left and took a seat.

"I'll have the beef and rice, and some green tea" Nagase ordered. She looked at me with a small smile on her face, causing me to flinch. I looked over to the man behind the counter, nodding a little.

"I'll have the same. And one more to-go please" I said shyly. The man smiled at us and nodded, turning around to begin cooking.

"So… About Ichijo..." Nagase began after a moment. She was slowly starting to open up. "I don't really like talking behind her back like this, but… I want you to help her out." I stare at Nagase with questioning eyes, tilting my head slightly.

"What do you mean...?" I asked.

"It's about Ichijo's family" Nagase began, her eyes narrow. "She lives by herself, but her parents' place is like, right next door. Once a week she drops by there, like today." "Her family is- what's the word I'm looking for- distinguished? Very traditional, very strict. But you'd never know just by looking at them." I slowly took in Nagase's information, nodding occasionally.

"I see… So, how does this affect Kou-chan?" I asked, not fully understanding the situation. Nagase tied her hands together and rested her elbows on the table, resting her chin on top of her hands.

"Well, let's just say that her family doesn't like basketball. They call it 'barbaric'" Nagase sighed. She let out an exhausted chuckle as he glances at me. "It's completely understandable though. I mean, girl soccer and basketball teams? We barely get any new recruits because most girls don't like the fact about getting sweaty and stuff." I nodded, understanding Kou's family point of view. I tied my hands together and rested them on top of the table.

"I got it. I'll do everything I can to help, Nagase-san" I said seriously, causing Nagase to sit up and look at me, a wide smile in her face.

"Really? Oh man, that'd be great!" Nagase chirped. She gave me a thumbs up and winked. "Since you're helping me out on this, there's no need for you to call me 'Nagase-san' and stuff." I nodded, taking a mental note of our new friendship. An idea slowly drifted in my mind as I placed my right hand to my chin, thinking for a moment.

"...How about a game?" I suggested, softly. Chou blinked at me in confusion as I continued to this about the solution to Kou's problem. From what Chou had told me, Kou is losing interest in basketball because her parents... So all I need to do is spark that fire she once had!

"Huh?" Chou asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A game" I repeated. "You and Kou-chan both said that most girls sports are low on team members. If a sports team doesn't have enough players, they can't participate in a game right?" Chou thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, that's right. I think it's in the handbook or something..." Chou replied, a little unsure herself. I nodded, putting more of the pieces together.

"Okay, so then" I began, "Because I'm a part of the team, the basketball team has enough players. So, let's sign up the basketball team with a game." Chou thought for a moment, nodding at my idea. Slowly, a smile began to form on her face.

"Not a bad idea!" Chou exclaimed, excited by my idea. I scratched my right cheek sheepishly, as I averted my eyes from hers.

"I don't really know much about stuff like this, so can you do it?" I asked shyly, feeling that I should have done it. Chou giggled with a nod, causing me to silently sigh in relief. I wouldn't know what to do if neither of us knew what to do.

"...I'm glad I can count on you" Chou said with a smile. I nodded back, feeling her gratitude towards me. I can feel a bound forming between Chou and I.

" **AIYAA**! You're meal is ready!" the owner shouted, causing Chou and I to jump. Chou laughed at my surprised expression as she took her bowl of glistening rice and beef. I took my own bowl hesitantly, along with the plastic bag with the to-go box inside.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, April 26th_**

I panted softly in exhaustion as everyone in the basketball team lined up, as ordered from Kou.

"Alright, listen up ladies! I got some good news!" Kou began, a bright smile on her face. "Thanks to Hitomi-chan, our team is big enough to play at a practice game this weekend!" A loud groan of shock and exhaustion swept over the other team members, causing Ebihara to raise an eyebrow at them. Kou smiled wearily at them, waving her hands in the air.

"Hey come on, don't be like that! We haven't done this since forever, so let's get out there and show them what girls are made of!" Ku chirped, pumping a fist in the air. The others groaned in defeat, exhausted looks on their faces.

"Sure..." they groaned.

"Yo! Ya got a second?" a familiar voice called out. I blinked in surprise to see Hanamura and Nise walk into the gym. Hanamura had a small smirk in his face while Nise looked confused.

"Hm? Oh, wassup Yosuke-kun" Kou asked. A faint blush covered her cheeks as she noticed Nise.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked, drawing my attention back to them. Hanamura smiled a little me before looking back at Kou.

"I've been talking to Nise here, and he wants to become your team manager!" Hanamura chirped. I froze in shock as Ebihara flinched while Kou exclaimed.

"Say what?!" Nise exclaimed, just as surprised. Hanamura brushed off their surprised looks as he placed a hand in his hip.

"Can he give it a shot?" Hanamura asked. Nise glared at Hanamura as the two of them whispered to each other.

"U-Uh, yeah, that would be great!" Kou stuttered, a big smile on her face as her cheeks grew more red. She walked over to Nise and smiled brightly at him, tying her hands in front of her chin. "Thanks so much Nise-kun! We can really use the help with the upcoming game!" Nise turned his attention over to Kou, noticing her happiness.

"Uh… Well, I guess I can help out for just _one_ game..." Nise said sheepishly, a small smile on his face. The blood in my face began to drain as I glanced over to Ebihara. He was glaring daggers over to Nise, an angry look on his face. I gulped silently as I glanced back over to Kou.

"Alright, now that that's all done and settled; let's go and shower up guys!" Kou instructed. Almost immediately, all the girls ran over to the locker room. Kou turned her attention over to Hanamura and Nise. "We'll see you later Nise-kun! Yosuke-kun!" The boys nodded and walked out the gym, Nise smacking Hanamura at the back of his head. Once they were gone, Ebihara grabbed his stuff and began to storm off, catching Kou and my attention.

"Oh! Uh, Ebihara-san! Can you help clean this time?" Kou asked. Ebihara looked over his shoulder, his eyes filled with anger.

"I'd love too, but I'm in a pretty crappy mood right now" Ebihara growled, causing Kou to squeak a little. Ebihara waved and turned back around, making his way out of the gym. "I'm outta here."

Once Ebihara left, Kou sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Looks like it's just you and me again..." Kou chuckled wearily. I nodded in agreement.

"I'm alright with it" I said bluntly, causing Kou's eyes to water. She suddenly hugged me, nearly squealing the air or of me.

"You're the best, Hitomi-chan! I can always count on you!" Kou squeaked, clearly happy by my help.

"So I've been told lately" I choked out, gently breaking Kou's bone crushing embrace. Kou laughed as the two of us began to collect all the basket balls.

Once the gym was clean of basket balls, and the carts were pushed inside the storage room, there was a heavy silence in the changing room. I was slightly uncomfortable by the silence, wondering where the cheerful Kou had gone.

"Hey… Hitomi-chan?" Kou began, her tone soft and serious. I pushed my arms out of the long turtleneck sleeves, turning towards Kou, whom was still in her underwear while sitting on the bench; her back facing me

"Yeah?" I asked, smoothing out my turtleneck.

"Listen… After this next game, I'm afraid I might have to quit the team" Kou hesitantly explained as she put on her uniform skirt.

"What for?" I asked, a little surprised by her sudden announcement.

"Well…" Kou began, a little nervous to open up. "You see, my grandma never really approved for the whole basketball thing... I'm from a big family and I'm the first in line to run things." I stared at Kou's back, understanding her situation thanks to the conversation Chou and I had.

"It sucks… " Kou chuckled wearily, slouching a bit. My eyes softened in pity as Kou slowly turned towards me, a weak but cheerful smile on her face. "I've only ever talked about this with Nagase, but… I figured I can trust you with it too." I could feel the trust Kou had in me, making me feel as if our friendship was deepening.

"...Kou-chan" I began, my eyes becoming more firm as I looked at her dead in the eye. "This last game, I'll do everything I can to help you win it. We'll have to start training extra hard from now on." Kou blinked in surprise at my words, clearly not expecting me to say that. She stood up and clapped her hand stood together in excitement.

"Awesome! You're the best!" Kou laughed, a wide smile forming. "You know what, if we do win; I'm going to tell Nise-kun how I really feel about him!"

I froze at Kou's last sentence. As Nise's friend and also Ebihara's emotion supporter, I was becoming nervous.

* * *

 ** _Friday, April 29th_**

3rd POV

It was a rainy day this afternoon in Inaba. Today was Showa Day, which meant there was no school today. But that didn't stop Yasogami girls basketball team. Well, at least, not all of them. There were a couple of no shows, casing Kou to go and call Chou to help out. Chou was also able to bring along a friend, giving the team enough players.

As Hitomi stretched out her legs, a familiar voice called out to her. Hitomi stood up straight and saw Yosuke walking towards her, a smile on his face as he wore his casual clothes today.

"Hanamura, what are you doing here?" Hitomi couldn't help but ask. Yosuke smiled as he stuffed his hands into his coat's pockets.

"To cheer you on, of course!" Yosuke chuckled. Hitomi blinked in slight surprise before nodding.

"Thank you, Hanamura" Hitomi said, causing Yosuke to smile and blush a little. To be perfectly honest with himself, he wanted to see Hitomi play. He was slightly curious to see how good she was over the past few days she practiced and well... Her chest. Suddenly, something hit Yosuke's head, causing him to yelp.

"Oops" Nise said as he looked at Yosuke as he held his head in pain. The cause of Yosuke's injury was from one of the tripod legs that Nise was holding over his shoulder. Aki walked right past the trio, a scowl on his face as he growled softly.

"Oh, hello Nise-kun" Hitomi greeted. Nise turned his attention towards Hitomi, quickly smiling at her.

"Hey. Good luck out there" Nise said as his smile grew. Hitomi nodded a thanks as Yosuke slowly rubbed his head.

"Hitomi-chan, come on! Help Nagase stretch!" Kou called out, catching the trio's attention. Hitomi nodded goodbye to Nise and Yosuke as she jogged over to Kou. Yosuke continued to rub his head in pain as Nise went over to the managers bench to put the tripod down. Turning on the camera and it setting up, Aki suddenly stood in front of the camera.

"I don't care if it's just for one game," Aki began. He growled as he bent over, his face being the main focus of the camera. "The likes of _girly men_ are _not_ welcomed here!" Nise's eyebrow twitched in anger as he looked up to lock eyes with Aki.

"Why do you care what happens? I hear that you barely even come to practice, let alone help the girls out" Nise growled, causing Aki's blood to boil. Soon the two began to argue. Yosuke stared at them with sweat rolling down his jaw, amazed that both of them were so into Hitomi. He himself couldn't help but feel a little jealous at this fact.

Before they knew it, the game had started. The Yasogami girls and the opposing team bowed in respect, shouting to play fair. The referee blew the whistle and the game commenced. Hitomi was able to grab the ball at the start, putting the team in the lead. She dribbled towards the opposing team's basket before getting cut off by a member. Hitomi turned her back towards her opponent and looked for someone to pass it too. She locked eyes with Kou, nodding slightly. In a swift movement, Hitomi pretended to pass the ball over to the right, causing half the court to scurry; giving her the opportunity to secretly pass the ball to Kou. Kou caught the ball with ease, thanks to the difficult training Hitomi forced her and Chou to do.

As the game played out, Aki glared at Nise as he wrote down notes for the team. Aki couldn't stand Nise's serious face. Who did he think he is, waltzing right on in here, suddenly becoming the team's manager? Aki growled as he turned his attention towards back the game. Throughout the game, Aki and Nise would seek secret glances at each other, getting angrier and angrier with each glance. Before they knew it, there was five minutes left of the game, the score being 10-14. Aki finally let out a scoff as he rested his elbow on his left knee.

"Seeing you up close just pisses me off even more! I cant believe I _lost_ to a girly looking dog like _you_ " Aki growled, causing Nise to straighten up in annoyance.

"What are you talkin' about?" Nise asked with a strain voice, trying hard not to blow up in anger. Aki snarled as he began to tap his foot in annoyance.

"Don't act like you don't know!" Aki snapped. "I'm going through hell because of you!" Nise gritted his teeth as he glanced over to Aki, his eyebrow twitching.

"Well, as long as we're sharing, I've got something to tell _you_ " Nise began, his voice practically seething in anger. "I've seen the way you push Narukami-chan around. It's horrible!" Aki froze in surprise and shock, a small smirk shaping on his lips.

"No way, you have the hot's for Hitomi?" Aki asked, slightly amused. Nise blushed as he looked back at his clip bored, not making eye contact.

"She's my friend!" Nise snapped, his blush growing. Aki scoffed as he glared at the embarrassed Nise, new anger growing within him.

"You're loved _and_ you've got a bunch of friends to boot..." Aki muttered. Unable to control himself anymore, Aki stood up and punched Nise right in the face, causing him to fall off the bench with a red cheek.

"You've got everything, you bastard!" Aki snapped, ready to stomp Nise in the stomach. Nise rolled away from Aki's foot, jumping to his feet.

"What the hell?! All I was sayin' is that if your going to be Narukami-chan's boyfriend, then treat her better!" Nise snapped, punching Aki in the face. Aki growled at his stinging cheek, aiming a sloppy punch towards Nise. Nise dodged it with ease and landed another jab to Aki's face. The two boys started to go all out, using whatever they could to bring as much pain as they could to the other. Yosuke was intently watching the game, not noticing the heated fight next to him.

All the while, the basketball game was becoming more intense. Time was running out and Hitomi and Kou were working as hard as they could to win. The girls were sweating, giving it a lot of effort. But compared to Hitomi and Kou, they were nothing more than raindrops. Hitomi was dripping with sweat, her hand and face acting almost like waterfalls while her hair stuck onto her like a magnet. Kou was producing sweat for others, her hair starting to turn moist.

"Less than a minute left!" Kou called out to Hitomi. Hitomi nodded, stealing the ball from the opposite member. Kou ran over to Hitomi, causing Hitomi to pass the ball to her. Hitomi staggered a bit as the opposite team began to turn it's attention to Kou. Hitomi noticed the all out war between Nise and Aki, nearly slipping in surprise.

"Hey, knock it off you guys!" Hitomi scolded. "This might be Kou-chan's last game! Sit down and watch her!" The mention of Kou's name was able to bring Aki back to his scenes. Aki looked over to the court, instantly spotting Kou as Nise was dragged away by Yosuke- who noticed the fight once Hitomi pointed it out. Kou was surrounded by the opponents, clinging onto the basketball with her soaking wet hands. Kou gritted her teeth as she twirled around, taking a shot. The ball hit the rims of the hop, slowly tilting in, earning the team a point. The buzzer rang, signaling the end of the game. Kou panted heavily in exhaustion and defeat, wiping her forehead with her arm. Yasogami had lost by two points, the shot Kou made barely making a difference. The opposite team cheered and high-fived in victory.

* * *

"We did our best!" Hitomi, Kou, Chou, and Aki cheered as they raised their drinks up in the air. Yosuke and Nise fallowed their actions and raised their glasses as well, not saying a word. Kou, Chou, Aki, Yosuke, and Nise took large gulps of their beverage while Hitomi took a small sip. All at once, everyone let out a sigh of relief, taking in the delicious aroma of the Aiya Chinese Diner.

"One beef over rice" a momentum, female voice said; catching the crew's attention. A short girl with pale skin, brown eyes and navy blue hair holding a tray with one hand; three bowls in hand. Part of her hair is braided and adorned with a hairclip with a Chinese design. Kou happily shot up her hand into the air, catching the girl's attention.

"That'd be me!" Kou sang, happy to receive some food. The girl nodded and made her way over to us. Yosuke and Nise stared at the girl for a moment before aweing in realization, nodding simultaneously. They had discussed that Hitomi reminded them of someone. It was this girl.

"Huh? Wait, hold on a sec" Yosuke began, realizing something. "Does your family run this place, Aika? Could we have been classmates this whole time and I didn't know this?" Aika looked over to Yosuke after setting down the two beef bowls, nodding.

"Yeah, guess so" Aiko said bluntly. Kou happily took apart her chopsticks, a wide smile on her face.

"Man, I'm always starving after a game~! I'm digging in!" Kou giggled, happily eating. Hitomi nodded in agreement, eating her food as well. There was an intense silence over the table as the crew watched Kou scarf down her food. Guilt flowed through Chou's blood as she sighed softly.

"Ichijo... I'm sorry. I let you down" Chou muttered, catching everyone's attention. Kou swallowed her food and smiled at Chou.

"What are you talking about?! We did kick some serious ass, even though we lost!" Kou laughed. Hitomi swallowed her food and tilted her head slightly.

"Didn't you say that… This would be your last game?" Hitomi asked. Kou looked over to Hitomi with wide eyes, as if she was hearing by the idea for the first time. After a small pause, Kou smiled gently at her as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah, about that... I think I'm gonna keep playing after all" Kou announced, causing Hitomi, Chou, and Aki to exclaim.

"I've realized something after playing that game. I love playing basketball! I hate losing, and well... I just refuse to let it end like this!" Kou opened her eyes and smile at Hitomi.

"If it weren't for you deciding to join us, I probably wouldn't have been able to experience such a good game like this… So thanks, Hitomi-chan" Kou said with a nod. Hitomi blinked in surprise at Kou's words of gratitude, feeling an unbreakable bond forming. Hitomi's eyes softened as she nodded. Kou smiled brightly as she pointed her chopsticks to Hitomi.

"So what do you say? Are ya gonna stick around with the team?" Kou asked. Hitomi sighed with exhaustion, nodding.

"Sure..." Hitomi muttered, causing the crew to laugh. Kou smiled as she leaned over to Hitomi, covering the side of her mouth.

"Hey, someday when we do win; I'll tell him how feel" Kou whispered, causing Hitomi to freeze. Nise finished drinking his drink as he huffed, catching everyone's attention.

"I'd love to stay, but I can't. It seems that I don't mix well with a certain _someone_ " Nise growled, glaring at Aki. Aki didn't react to Nise's glare as he looked over to Kou.

"So, um... Hey, Ichijo?" Aki began, a soft pink on his cheeks as Kou's attention turned toward him. "Could I, uh, you know... Stay with the team?" Kou's face light up as she smiled brightly.

"Of course! That'd be great!" Kou exclaimed with a nod. Aki blushed at Kou's happy smile, a small smile of his own forming.

* * *

After Hitomi and Kou had finished their meals, it was time for everyone to head home. Kou laughed happily with Chou as they talked about Kou's final shot. Hitomi walked behind the girls as the boys paid for Hitomi and Kou's meal.

"Hey, Hitomi!" Aki called out as he jogged over to her. Hitomi looked over her shoulder towards the light brown haired boy as he smiled at Kou's back.

"You know, I think I'll be okay on my own now" Aki announced, causing Hitomi to blink in surprise. He closed his eyes as he tied his hands behind his head.

"You're really chill and super nice. And I wanted to spoil you. At least, until I finally got over being rejected" Aki began. He looked over to Hitomi and smiled sheepishly. "For a minute there, I thought I was gonna fall for you!" Hitomi's face paled as Aki laughed, pulling out something from his bag. He handed it over to Hitomi, winking.

"Here, take this as a memento form our time together" Aki said. Hitomi hesitantly took it, realizing that it was the pictures from that day they skipped out on school. On the picture, Hitomi's face was struck with horror as Aki smiles brightly, a sparkling border around them with the words "Thanks, my fake girlfriend" on the bottom.

"It's a major pain in the ass, but I'll try to become a better manager..." Aki sighed, catching Hitomi's attention once more. "You helped me make that decision... And you know what? It's about time I did. Thanks a lot for all that you've done!" Hitomi blinked in surprise at Aki's new attitude, nodding a your welcome. Aki smirked as he patted Hitomi's head.

"You should keep showing up to practice. It's fun watching those melons of yours bounce" Aki teased, causing Hitomi's face to explode in embarrassment. Aki laughed uncontrollably as he walked over to Kou and Chou. Hitomi sighed in both exhaustion and relief. It has been the longest days in her entire life.


	9. Golden Week

_**Saturday, April 30** **th**_ ** _Early Morning..._**

It was a nice day today as I silently walked towards school. It hadn't occurred to me that the past few days up to yesterday had been raining until the weather forecast last night. The fog had subsided earlier this morning, making the sky clear, with splashes of pearl white clouds in the mix.

I walked up the hill leading to the gate of Yasogami High, when I noticed Amagi fidgeting in front of it as if hesitant to head inside.

"Good morning to you, Amagi-san" I called out, catching her attention. Amagi turned around in surprise, noticing me. As I walked over to her, she stammered with her words, looking embarrassed.

"O-Oh... Good morning" Amagi stuttered as she smiled at me.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked. Amagi nodded, her smile becoming more relaxed.

"Y-Yeah... I'll be coming to school again, so... That'll be nice" Amagi stuttered nervously. I nodded, agreeing with her. There was a small pause of silence as Amagi's smile started to become a guilty frown.

"I caused everyone some real trouble... I'm sorry" Amagi began, sounding guilty. She stopped for a moment, blinking in realization. She shook her head as she smiled gently at me. "No, 'sorry' isn't quite right... What I mean to say is, thank you." I stared at Amagi as I noticed that she seemed more cheerful than before.

"My mother's back to work already. The maids are being really supportive, and I think things are going even smoother than before" Amagi chirped. I nodded, taking in her words.

"Still, I wonder if I was trying to hard..." Amagi began as she frowned again. "I may have been too caught up in the idea that I had to do everything myself. Nise got hurt because of it, but... Ever since the incident, I feel like I can think about these things more calmly."

"I'm glad things turned out for the better" I said suddenly, causing her to stare at me in surprise. I was happy that Amagi was back. Nise hadn't shown it, but I could tell that he really missed Amagi's presence at school. Nise will be rather happy to see Amagi again. Amagi blushed and turned away from me.

"B-But... it's still kind of embarrassing..." Amagi began, her voice a little shaky. "You guys saw _everything_... Even the things I didn't want to admit..."

"Everyone's like that," I said reassuringly.

"You think so...?" Amagi asked, continuing to avoid my eve contact.

"Yukiko!" a familiar voice called out. Amagi and I looked over and saw Nise waving happily at the two of us.

"Oh, it's Nise!" Amagi giggled. Amagi turned towards me and nodded.

"Well, I'll talk to you later" Amagi said as she left me to go catch up with Nise, who was trying to run towards us. I watched as Amagi practically ran all the way to Nise, the two nearly colliding with each other. There was a pause between them before Nise wrapped his arms around Amagi in an embrace, laughing happily. I felt proud at the scene, a warm feeling washing over me. This was all possible because the team and I had saved Amagi before she met the same fate as Konishi and Yamano. It was good to see Nise and Amagi together again. The warm feeling continued to wash over me as I turned around, heading towards the school.

* * *

 ** _Morning..._**

Everyone in class was surprised to see Amagi sitting back at her desk. Even the geography teacher, Mr. Yamada had noticed her presence.

"I see Amagi-san is back" Yamada began with smile. "That's good, I'm glad that one of the cuties in the class was able to return. Wouldn't you guys agree?" The room went dead silent as some of the students gave Yamada suspicious stares. Yamada's face paled as his smile began to twitch.

"Oops! I mean, _all_ of you are cute!" Yamada said quickly, breaking the pause. "No, really! Er, please don't tell your parents that I said that, will ya? I don't wanna get in trouble." Some of the students continued to stare at Yamada, unconvinced while a few students- like myself- took out their notebook for the class.

"Ahem, anyway, I have an interesting topic for you today. Close your books and take a look at the handout. Sounds like a good time to pick on the city girl, Narukami-chan" Yamada called out. I blinked in surprise, raising to my feet. It seems that if I wasn't helping Hanamura out of a bind with a teacher, the teachers would _pick on_ me.

"What is the greatest canyon in the solar system?" Yamada asked. I thought for a moment before nodding.

"Valles Marineris" I replied. Yamada made a face that showed he was impressed with my answer.

"Wow, you really are from the city! Well, I guess that doesn't have anything to do with it. Hahaha!" Yamada laughed. I wasn't amused as I took a seat, quickly taking notes.

"The Valles Marineris on Mars is ten times larger than the Grand Canyon!" Yamada began. "Mars also hosts Olympus Mons, the largest mountain in the solar system. Both the highest mountain and the greatest canyon are on Mars. Isn't that useful information? Since you got me started on canyons, I'm gonna cover some materials on their characteristics..."

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

Nise, Hanamura, and I talked over small things on Yasogami's roof top; waiting for Amagi. She must have felt really bad about my condition during the first part of the fight with her shadow because she was treating me to a bowl of soba. The three of us continued talking with each other for a few more minutes until Amagi arrived with two bowls of instant noodles.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Amagi apologized with a smile as she handed me a bowl. "The soba is yours, right Narukami-chan?" I nodded as I hesitantly took the bowl.

"Um, thank you once again..." I muttered softly, a soft blush creeping onto my cheeks. Amagi giggled as she took a seat next to me.

"It's alright! This is my way of thanking you" Amagi giggled. The salty and yet satisfying aroma of the soba noddle's drifted towards me, causing me to almost drool.

"...Smells so good... These instant noodles are just the thing to help me through club" I muttered to myself. I looked over to Amagi with a slight pout. "How much longer do I have to wait on this?"

"It still needs a few minutes," Amagi replied with a giggle.

"So why are we here again?" Nise asked, forgotten the whole purpose. "Oh, yeah, we were going to ask Yukiko what happened." Hanamura frowned in discomfort as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Amagi-san, I hate to bring up stuff you'd rather not think about... But I need to ask you again. Did you recall anything about when you got kidnapped?" Hanamura asked. I turned my attention over to Amagi, just in time to see her eyes look dazed; her eyes lowering to her lap.

"No..." Amagi began. "I thought I might remember something if I let it sit for a while, but as time passes, it only gets hazier... I think... the doorbell rang at the entrance... and someone called for me..." Amagi paused for a moment, thinking with all her might. After a moment, she shook her head and looked up. "But when I woke up after that, I was already in the castle... I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," Nise reassured, waving his hand. He slowly looked up to the sky, a confused look on his face. "But does this mean her visitor is the culprit?"

"I don't know…" Hanamura muttered as he crossed his arms. "If it's true, then that's one daring criminal. What kind of killer would ring the doorbell? The police are probably looking for witnesses... Heh, as if the culprit wore bright yellow clothes at the scene of the crime."

"Hmm…" Nise pursed his lips. "I wonder why whoever it is would do stuff like this." I nodded, also wondering why.

"We won't know until we confront 'em ourselves..." Hanamura replied. "But we can be sure of one thing. It's no coincidence that people keep ending up in that place. Someone on our side is definitely kidnapping them and throwing them into the TV. It's murder, all right..." Hanamura realized something as he looked over to Amagi.

"Oh yeah, we never told you. Narukami-chan and I are gonna catch the culprit ourselves! The police are out of their league on this case, but we got Personas" Hanamura explained as he smiled at me. I nodded, agreeing with the fact that the two of us did agree to catch this daring criminal. Nise pumped his fist into the air, catching everyone's attention.

"I'm helping out too! I can't believe someone would throw people into a place like that. I'm gonna sock whoever's doing this!" Nise announced.

"Nise..." Amagi muttered as she looked at Nise. I turned my attention to her, staring at her as she watched Hanamura and Nise chat. She looked as if she was deep in thought about something.

"...Can you lend us a hand, Amagi-san?" I asked after a moment, causing her to tense up. As a persona user herself, we could most certainly use her to help us catch this man. Amagi looked at me, locking eyes with mine. After a moment, she nodded, her eyes becoming filled with determination.

"Yes. Please let me help too" Amagi announced in a firm tone, catching the boys attention. "I want to know why this is happening. Especially if someone hates me so much they want to kill me. I don't want to run away from myself anymore." There was a moment of silence, but no one protested or tried to change Amagi's mind. Amagi had been accepted onto the team.

"Alright!" Hanamura suddenly began, causing me to look at him. "Then let's all work together and catch this asshole!"

"Agreed" Amagi said. Everyone began to converse with each other once more, talking about what our next plan was and so on.

"About the culprit," Nise began. "How're we going to find them? We don't have a single lead yet." I stared at him for a moment, thinking up of a few things.

"I'm the third one to be targeted so far..." Amagi began. "But I have a feeling this isn't the end of it. If we had an idea of who might be targeted next, wouldn't we have an advantage over the killer?"

"So we'll outsmart them, huh...?" Hanamura said slowly, pausing for a moment. "Yeah, that might work. Okay, so let's see if we can figure out what ties the victims together. First, there was that announcer, Mayumi Yamano. Second was Saki Konishi... Senpai. Third was Yukiko Amagi. What do they all have in common...?" Their was a dense silence as Nise thought as hard as he could, humming. I looked over to Amagi and saw that she was also thinking. Sighing silently, I raised my hand, as if answering a question.

"So far, they're all female" I answered, causing everyone to look at me as I lowered my hand. Hanamura nodded as he smiled.

"Bingo" Hanamura said with proud smile. Nise scowled in realization, his hands tightening into fists.

"How dare he target females! Now that's unforgivable! The culprit's gotta be some kinda pervert...! Or even a misogynist!" Nise growled, clearly disgusted. Hanamura nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Also, what about this?" Hanamura began. "The second and third victims had some sort of connection to the first one." I nodded, already taking notice of that fact. Nise blinked in surprise as his body relaxed.

"Hey, that's right. Yukiko and Konishi-senpai _both_ had connections to that announcer..."

"That's true," Amagi confirmed, catching my attention. "Then... does that mean females connected in some way to Ms. Yamano's case are being targeted...?" I stared at Amagi fro a moment with a raised eyebrow. I thought that her mother was the one who was mostly connected to Yamano, not Amagi herself. Could it be that the culprit has some sort of attraction towards younger females?

"I think that's a safe assumption for now," Hanamura remarked, catching my attention. "There's another angle we can take, too. If another person disappears..."

"You think they'd be on that Midnight Channel?" Nise asked. "That happened right before Yukiko was kidnapped, too." Hanamura nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's hard to tell who at first, but what's important is, it's happened before the victims disappeared. Kinda like a ransom note. We still don't know why that happens, but we'll have to rely on it for now" Hanamura explained.

"The next time it rains..." I heard Amagi mutter. Amagi, Nise, Hanamura, and myself all nodded simultaneously. As of now, it seemed that the Midnight Channel was the team's only means of predicting who will be kidnapped next. I made it a mental note to watch the Midnight Channel on the next rainy night.

"By the way, aren't those done by now?" Hanamura said suddenly as he stared at my soba bowl. I blinked in surprise, remembering that I had it in my possession.

"Oh, that's right" I said as I peeled off the paper lid.

"Let's eat!" Amagi chirped as she also peeled off her lid. The two of us simultaneously broke our chopsticks a part and began to eat.

"Hey, could I try just a little bit of that?!" Hanamura asked, rather quickly. I blinked in surprise and glanced at him.

"Just one tiny bite!" Hanamura begged, seeming desperate. I sucked on the noddle's that hung from my mouth, entering them inside as I nodded, offering my bowl to Hanamura. Hanamura smiled as I handed him my bowl and chopsticks.

"Do you want to try some, Nise?" Amagi offered, noticing him staring at my bowl in Hanamura's possession. Nise blushed a little as he laughed nervously, nodding. Amagi stood up and handed him her bowl and chopsticks. The boys smiled at each other and began to eat small bites.

"It's soooo gooood..." Hanamura hummed, as if he had never found instant noodles this delicious until now. "The aroma, the flavor, and the texture all combined... This is perfect!" I watched the two of them eat, the warm feeling from this morning washing over me again. Soon, Hanamura and Nise were eating away at Amagi and my food. I could tell that it was too delicious for them to stop eating.

"H-Hey! Don't you think you had enough for a small bite?!" Amagi said nervously, catching the boys attention. They froze in realization and almost immediately, the two handed our bowls back. I looked inside and saw that there was nothing but the broth left inside my bowl.

"Y-You ate everything... M-My fried tofu..." Amagi muttered, causing me to look into her bowl. Just like my own, it had met the same fate. I looked back over to my bowl as a strange sensation came over me. Slowly, I puffed out my cheeks and pouted at my empty bowl.

"W-Wait wait wait! I-I'm sorry, please don't cry, Narukami-chan! I-I'll buy you steak! It'll be on me!" I heard Hanamura exclaim.

"C'mon, Yukiko!" I heard Nise exclaim as well, but more happy than Hanamura. "There's steak in it for us now! You can eat instant noodles anytime we want. Right?"

"Wha- Dude, I'm not buying _you_ steak" Hanamura snapped. I looked up over at the boys and saw that they were both looking nervous, afraid that the two of us would start crying.

"Well... as long as it isn't too fatty" I heard Amagi fum. Nise smiled in relief as he patted Hanamura's back.

"Okay, then they've reached a verdict!" Nise chirped as he looked at Hanamura with a wide grin. "Filet sounds nice doesn't it? It's not fatty, _and_ it's expensive!" Hanamura growled at Nise as he pushed Nise away from him a little.

"Like I said, I'm _not_ buying _you_ steak!" Hanamura growled, only to be completely ignored. Nise grabbed Amagi's arm and the of them began to walk towards the door, leaving Hanamura and I remained at our spots. I looked over to Hanamura and stood up.

"I'll help you pay for the filet, Hanamura" I said reassuringly so he wouldn't be too upset. Hanamura looked at me in surprise.

"Ah, well, the whole purpose of the steak was to make you feel better! An apology for eating your soba" Hanamura laughed wearily.

"It's fine, I wasn't really upset" I said with a shake of my head. Hanamura stared at me for a bit with a soft blush before laughing. He patted my head as he smiled brightly at me.

"Thanks, that's good to know! Can't have my partner upset at me, ya know?" Hanamura laughed. I nodded in agreement as the two of us began to fallow Amagi and Nise.

* * *

Hanamura and I had bought Amagi and Nise steak, as the four of us sat at one of the tables in the Junes food court.

"Man, talk about great timing!" Hanamura chirped, happily. "We just started serving grilled steak today. We're doing our part to spread this town's specialty dish. Plus, we've already got an excellent grill." He looked at me and smiled, telling me that he also didn't want to waste too much of my money. I nodded a thank you, causing him to blush a little.

"That's just a yakisoba griddle..." Nise complained as he looked at the plate of steak in front of him. "Oh well, _steak_ is _steak_. It's _far_ from a _filet steak_ though."

"You weren't supposed to even _get_ any steak!" Hanamura snapped, glaring at Nise. Nise ignored him as he looked at Amagi with a worried look.

"Yukiko, are you okay with this? It's not too heavy for you?" Nise asked. Amagi huffed as she looked at her steak.

"I'll eat it... I'm still mad" Amagi grumbled, causing Nise to flinch.

"So, back on topic" Nise said quickly, looking over to his other friends. "I wonder what kind of person the culprit is."

"If you focus just on the announcer's case, it seems like a revenge thing," Hanamura explained. "Maybe it was his lover's wife." I shook my head in disagreement, catching his attention.

"Misuzu Hiiragi had a solid alibi" I remarked. "I overheard my uncle mutter that she was already separated from her husband before the affair, when he thought that I was asleep."

"What _were_ you doing?" Nise asked, catching my attention. I pretended to scribble words onto a notepad.

"Studying. And fixing my notes here and there" I replied bluntly, as if it wasn't strange at all.

"Really? Well, I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from my partner" I heard Hanamura say, turning my attention over to him just in time to see him wink. "Okay, what about the second case? Saki-senpai... she found the announcer's body. Assuming the same person killed them both, then why target Senpai...?"

"Maybe it was to shut her up?" Nise suggested as he cut a piece of his meal. Hanamura nodded sadly.

"Yeah, I think so too. Maybe she found a clue or something about the culprit" Hanamura thought out loud.

"But the killer just threw the announcer into a TV, right?" Yukiko asked as she looked up, recovered from her anger. "I don't think he would've left evidence the police—much less a high school student—would catch." Hanamura hummed as he nodded slowly.

"Well, that's true..." Hanamura muttered. The four of us continued talking to each other about the case, throwing ideas left and right. I was listening to Hanamura as he popped up some suggestions, before abruptly stopping.

"Huh? Isn't he that detective?" Hanamura said, causing everyone to fallow his gaze. I blinked in surprise as I saw Adachi staring at the menu, a small smile on his face. Adachi noticed us and made his way over to them.

"Hey, you were at Dojima-san's..." Adachi said in surprise as he locked eye contact with me. I nodded, keeping our eyes locked.

"Yes, I was. What are you doing here? Not avoiding work, I hope" I asked, a little upset to see him here. I hope that he wasn't avoiding work, leaving poor Dojima by himself.

"Ahaha... I-I'm not..." Adachi laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, wait! Hey, this is great timing after all. Dojima-san said that he'll be leaving work on schedule tonight. Could you pass that on to Nanako-chan?" I nodded.

"Hm? Oh, hey! I'm Adachi, Dojima-san's gofer... Err, I mean, his partner" Adachi introduced, noticing my friends.

"Are you this busy every day?" I heard Hanamura ask teasingly.

"Huh?" Adachi asked as he blinked. "Oh, well, the public seems to be getting a charge out of these cases, but we can't leave it at that."

"Sorry to butt in, but could it be that the killer targeted Konishi-senpai in order to silence her?" Nise asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"U-Ummm, you sure get to the heart of the matter Yikes…haha" Adachi laughed nervously, caught off guard by Nise's sudden question. "Of course, we're also thinking along those lines. She was killed right after the announcer's body was found. If the killer was trying to silence her, there might've been something at the scene only she would have understood. Which would mean that the culprit may be someone close to Ms. Konishi. Nothing like that points to Misuzu Hiiragi, so... Ooh, I might have stumbled across something here... W-Wait, were you listening to all that?! Crap! Me and my big mouth..." Adachi smiled nervously at us, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"D-Don't tell anyone I said any of that, or Dojima-san will flay me alive..." Adachi practically begged. He cleared his throat and pounded a fist over his heart. "Relax, kids, the police are on the job. See you!" With that said, Adachi started walking away from us, rather quickly. Once he was out of earshot, Nise spoke.

"You were right, Yosuke," Nise sighed. "The police are totally useless." He turned around and began to eat finish his steak. Hanamura made a face at Nise, still upset at the fact that we had to buy him steak.

When Nise and Amagi had finished eating, we decided to go into the TV World. There were some things Amagi needed to know. I was almost dreading the trip into the TV World, because every time I went in, I was always piled under.

* * *

I helped Hanamura stand up after falling from the television. Nise helped Amagi prepare for the fall, so they were fine. But it seems that Hanamura still needs a few more tries.

"Do you think that you'll be ever to land on your feet, Hanamura?" I asked. Hanamura groaned as he stood up, rubbing his back.

"It's going to take a year for me to get used to it" Hanamura replied, an exhausted look on his face. Once he was fully on his feet once again, Nise, Hanamura, and I put on our glasses on as Amagi looked around in awe.

"Wow..." Amagi began, not seeing everything this world has to offer since she had no glasses yet. "This really is inside the TV..." At that moment, I saw Berry walk up to us, causing Amagi to look at her with wide-eyes.

"It's Berry..." Amagi exclaimed, sounding as if she had almost forgotten about the blue bear. "Then it wasn't a dream..."

"Are you feeling better, Yuki-chan?" Berry asked, with a smile. "I did what you said! I've been a good bear!" Amagi stared at Berry for a moment, before nodding in realization.

"Oh, I see. Good girl!" Amagi said, causing Berry to giggle and blush. I couldn't help but think that Berry was almost like Nanako.

"W-Well, this bear's part of the reason we want to find the culprit" Hanamura said, catching everyone's attention back to our earlier topic. Amagi nodded and looked at Berry.

"I'm one of the group now too. Let's work together, okay?" she said with a caring tone. Berry bounce in excitement as her blush grew redder.

"Okay! I was thinking the same thing! That's why I got these ready for you, Yuki-chan!" Berry cheered as she walked over to Amagi and handed her a pair of slender red glasses.

"Oh, so these are what everyone's wearing, Thank you, Berry" Amagi said as she looked over at us, putting on the glasses. "Hey, you're right! It's just as if the fog doesn't exist..."

"Hey, tell me something" Nise began as he looked at Berry. "How come you have so many pairs of glasses?"

"Excellent question!" Berry chirped. "Guess what? _I'm_ the one who makes them. I've lived here for a long time. So I came up with some ways to be comfortable here." I nodded, taking in her information when an idea popped into my mind.

"But don't you need a pair?" I asked. Berry's smile widen at the question, turning her attention towards me.

"Oooh, good point. Another great question! Listen to this! My eyes _themselves_ are lenses! You didn't know?" Berry explained. I nodded, understanding now. Hanamura eyed Berry in exhaustion as sweat dropped from his jaw.

"Of course not..." Hanamura said with an unamused, exhausted tone. Berry looked somewhat offended by Hanamura's tone and flailed her arms at him.

"Wh-Why are you being so mean?" Berry scowled. "You act like you're not interested! I'm a really _dexterous_ bear! See how smoothly my fingers move!" Berry walked up to Hanamura and I, showing us his hands as she started to delicately move her fingertips.

"What am I even looking at?!" Hanamura exclaimed, a little freaked out by Berry's hand movements, before shoving her away.

"Ow!" Berry squeaked when she fell back, only to bounce back immediately after hitting the floor. Berry hugged me and started crying, causing me to look at Hanamura with an unreadable expression. He flinched at the scene and looked away, earning a glare from Nise.

"Hm?" You dropped something..." Amagi said, catching our attention. Berry's tears stopped almost immediately as she looked over at Amagi.

"Oh, that's a pair I kinda screwed up on" Berry explained. Amagi knelt down to pick up the glasses and smiled when she got a closer look at them.

"Oooh..." Amagi exclaimed as she took off her current glasses and replaced them with the ones she picked off the ground. She turned to face the four of us, revealing that it was a rather goofy looking glasses with a fake nose, fake mustache, and the lenses had circles on them. Nise stared wide-eyed at Amagi, almost taking a step back.

"Y-Yukiko?" Nise stuttered.

"Ahaha, how do I look?" Amagi asked with a giggle, clearly having a good time. Nise said nothing and neither did Hanamura, causing me to nod at her.

"Looks natural on you" I said. Amagi began to laugh, covering her mouth as she did so.

"Ahahaha! Awesome!" Amagi laughed. Berry removed herself from me and smiled at Amagi, feeling better herself at Amagi's laughter.

"Do you like that one, Yuki-chan?" Berry asked. Amagi looked at Berry and nodded.

"I want to wear this one. It's even got a nose guard!" Amagi giggled. Nise shook his head in disagreement.

"Ohhh no you don't!" Nise growled, causing me to stare at him. Why couldn't Amagi wear the glasses? Maybe the enemies will be stunned by her presence, giving us the upper hand.

"How bear-y unfortunate..." Berry said with a sad tone, surprised with the outcome of his failure. "That pair doesn't have the right lenses in. Guess I should've made an actual pair."

"Aww..." Amagi said sadly, looking down. I looked over to Nise, an idea coming to my head.

"Amagi-san, why don't you let Nise-kun try on the glasses?" I suggested, causing Nise and Amagi to jump. Amagi grinned widely at my idea and swapped glasses again. She walked over to Nise and held out the gag glasses to him.

"Come on Nise, your turn!" Amagi said with chipper tone, clearly excited. Nise stared at Amagi for a moment before sighing in defeat.

"All right, _fine_..." Nise groaned, snatching the gag glasses. He removed his own glasses and swapped them with the gag. He looked at everyone and almost immediately, the raven-haired girl started snickering. I heard Berry and Hanamura begin to chuckle as well.

"Snrk... Heehee...!" Amagi snickered, trying her best to hold it in her laughter, only to fail and burst into a fit of laughter. Nise sighed as his face got red.

"How'd it come to this...?" Nise muttered, rubbing the back of his head. I stared at Amagi in slight surprise, hearing her mistress like laughter.

"There goes one of Yukiko's laughing fits..." Nise sighed again. "I never thought she'd do it when someone besides me was around." I looked back at Nise and stared at him for a moment.

"You know, you don't look half bad, Nise-kun. You look very silly" I said with a nod. Nise's face turned red as he stammered. He instantly took off the glasses and glared at Berry, swapping his old one's back on.

"Th-These stupid glasses are useless for investigating! I mean, what the hell's this nose for, anyway?!" Nise shouted, sounding embarrassed.

"Nice work, huh?" Berry giggled. "That's what happens when you guys leave me here alone and I get bored!"

"D-Dude... Have you ever thought of dying your hair black man? Oh my God, that'd be amazing!" Hanamura laughed. Nise threw the gag glasses at Hanamura, earning a yelp.

"Oh Nise, the look on your face..." Amagi snickered. "Snrk... Hahaha, it was so funny! I-I can't stop... laugh—Heehee! Ohhh, my stomach, ahahah...!" The atmosphere with the group was mixed with joy and embarrassment as we watched Amagi laugh. This went on for a few more minutes before Amagi _finally_ calmed down. Since Amagi was still considered to be mentally weak, we decided to leave the T.V world for today.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, May 1st_**

It was Sunday morning as I calmly combed my short hair, thinking of what to do today, when my iPhone suddenly rang. I blinked in surprise, wondering who could be calling me at the hour. I put my comb down and picked up my phone, seeing that it was Hanamura.

With a push of the talk button, I out the iPhone to my ear and said, "Good morning, Hanamura." My greeting must have taken him by surprise, because he didn't reply for a solid three minutes.

" _Ah-um... Good morning, Narukami-chan_ " Hanamura finally greeted, stuttering. "Sorry for calling so early, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today? I still owe you that beefsteak to welcome you to Inaba."

"You really don't have too, Hanamura. It's fine" I reassured, feeling bad for Hanamura's wallet. I heard Hanamura chuckle at the other end of the line.

" _Come on, I insist! I'll stop by your place and we can go eat somewhere._ _ **Besides**_ _from Junes, that is_ " Hanamura chuckled. I thought about his offer fro a moment before nodding.

"Alright, if you truly insist" I said with a small sigh.

" _Cool! I'll be right over, see ya!_ " Hanamura cheered. I hung up and put my cell phone into my pocket. I should probably tell Nanako before I leave. I stood up from my futon and walked down stairs.

"Nanako?" I called out as I entered the living room. Nanako was at the front door, putting on her shoes, causing me to blink in surprise.

"Oh, good morning" Nanako said with a smile. I nodded as I walked over to her.

"Are you going out?" I asked. Nanako nodded as she slipped on her other shoe.

"Sa-kun and Na-kun want to go bug hunting today" Nanako explained. I nodded and patted her head.

"Try not to stay out to late, alright?" I instructed. Nanako blushed at my actions and nodded. With a bright smile, she turned around and left.

* * *

Hanamura picked me up from the Dojima's residence a few minutes after Nanako left and took me to Souzai Daigaku in the Central District. The vender was very happy to have costumers and quickly served us our order, which Hanamura said were called steak croquettes. I was having a hard time eating them, slowly chewing with my delicate teeth. The supposedly "famous" steak croquettes were rather tough...

"Sticking chunks of steak in croquettes... Man, this really is the country, huh?" Hanamura laughed. I didn't respond since I was too busy chewing on the croquette.

"Well, it is good..." Hanamura said as he used his chopsticks to pick up a croquette. "Though, it is tough... You know, Nise calls this stuff 'tender and juicy'. What kinda teeth does that guy have...?"

"The kind... I wish I had..." I replied as I swallowed my mouth full of croquette. It probably took me a full minute of chewing before I could finally swallow. Hanamura laughed at my reply, nodding in agreement. Hanamura started joking about Nise's teeth as we continued to eat our food. As Hanamura continued to joke, two gossiping housewives passed by us as we ate. The housewives seemed to have noticed Hanamura as their conversation was starting to involve him.

"He's from Junes…Yasogami High School, right?"

"His classmate…Sato-san…? Went out of business…"

"This shopping district could disappear, and yet…"

 ** _Snap!_**

I gasped in surprise as I looked down at my hand. My chopsticks were perfectly snapped in half, my hand tightly squeezing. The housewives became startled by my action as they immediately went on their way as far as possible from Hanamura and I. Hanamura was just as surprised as I was at my action and quickly got me another set of chopsticks.

"Sorry..." I apologized as I took my new chopsticks. Hanamura shook his head as he chuckled.

"It's fine!" Hanamura chirped, sounding a little happy. He blushed a little as he winked at me. "It just mean that you really like me huh? Developing a little crush, are you?" I stared at him as he laughed at his little joke. After a moment he sighed, his smile seeming a little forced now.

"Just kidding... But, sorry about that. You know me, I'm infamous around here" Hanamura said sadly.

"It must be tough..." I said as I fiddled with my food.

"Nahhh, it's not really" Hanamura replied as he shrugged it off. "It's mainly my parents, I'm not personally involved. Anyways, there's nothing I can do about it." I nodded, taking in his information as I put another croquette in my mouth.

"I don't think there's anyone in Inaba who doesn't know me, at school or around town…" Hanamura paused for a minute to look at me. "Except for you."

"Hmm?" I said as I stopped chewing.

"I'm mean, you're still new to Inaba and everything," Hanamura explained. "It just makes everything easier, especially since you also came from Tokyo. I mean, I don't mind everything... It just sucks because I always gotta mind my manners. Except around you, of course... I mean, we're friends, right?" I looked at Hanamura as he smiled cheerfully at me. I just nodded and continued to chew on my croquette. Although, I felt as though I understood Hanamura a bit more.

* * *

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. After so many visits, Hitomi could tell that it was the Velvet Room. But something was strange... The long nosed man, known as Igor, was no where in sight.

"Oh my" the platinum-blonde haired woman, known as Margaret, said in surprise. "I am so terribly sorry, but I'm afraid the mater is out at the moment. If your errand isn't urgent, I regret to ask that you come back lat-" Margret suddenly cut herself off as she looked down at her lap. After a moment of silence, Margret shook her head.

"No, that won't do" Margret began, not specifically talking to Hitomi. "This room is bound tightly to your fate. Nothing here happens without a reason..." Margret looked up at Hitomi and gave a genuine smile.

"Since you _are_ already here," Margret began as her smile widens. "Hello, and welcome to the Velvet Room. Hehe, I always wanted to say that!" After a bit of giggling, Margret shakes her head and looks down at the tattered tome on her lap.

"Now, moving forward" Margret began as two arcana's descended onto her book. "I see that you have encouraged your new bonds to blossom. The moon, and strength. I wonder just what sort of future these two arcana will guide you towards." Margret opened up the tome and showed the moments that Hitomi had shared with Kou and Aki, proving to her that she has formed new unbreakable friendships.

"That's it. Please come back again when the master is in" Margret said with a caring tone, almost motherly. Soon, Hitomi's vision began to blur as darkness engulfed the room.

* * *

 ** _Monday, May 2nd_**

Hitomi's POV

I yawned softly as I made my way to school this morning. It was raining, making gentle lullabies against my translucent umbrella as I thought about the dream I had last night, aside from encountering Margret. In my dream, Kou and Chou were throwing me into the air as a celebration for winning a game. It wasn't a bad dream, but it was sort of strange; considering it felt as if it came out of nowhere.

"Oh, good morning!" I heard someone familiar call out. I stopped at the entrance of the school and saw Amagi making her way towards me.

"Good morning" I greeted as she stood next to me. Amagi nodded as a stressed frown fell upon her face.

"It's raining... It's not going to last past nightfall, though" Amagi said as her frown slowly turned into a relaxed smile. I nodded, knowing where her thoughts were heading.

"Say, Golden Week starts tomorrow..." Amagi began, changing the subject. "Do you have any plans?"

"My relatives will be having a family outing. I'll be joining them" I explained, feeling a warm feeling wash over me.

"I-I see" Amagi stuttered, sounding somewhat stunned. "That must be tough." I shook my head in disagreement.

"Not really. I've actually been looking forward to it" I explained. Amagi giggled at my response, earning a few glances our way.

"Well, at least it looks like we're going to have clear skies all week. It'd be nice if it could stay peaceful like this, but the mystery hasn't been solved yet. Perhaps we should visit 'over there' to become much stronger" Amagi suggested. I nodded as the two of us began to head to class, Amagi rambling on and on about small things.

* * *

 ** _Afternoon..._**

The classroom buzzed with endless chatter as homeroom began. Most of the students topics were about their plans during golden week. Morooka slapped his green notebook on his desk, causing the chattering to simmer down into whispers.

"I'm hearing a lot of chatter about Golden Week, but don't forget that first and foremost, you're students! Your duty is to study! You don't have time to fool around, alright?!" Morooka growled.

"Do _not_ misunderstand what freedom means!" Morooka continued. "It does not mean that you can live without taking responsibility! Even Pythagoras said, 'As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom'! Next order of business! Midterms are coming up next week! The results will be posted to humiliate low-scoring losers! If you don't want to be shamed, study hard! It's that simple!" Surprised at the sudden information, I pulled out a small notebook known as my 'emergency notebook', and scribbled down the saying.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

I sighed in relief as I turned on the faucet in the girls bathroom. School had finally ended and everyone had left already. Since it was raining, they all decided to go straight home and do whatever. I heard Chou that there was a bowl filled with beef that was supposedly as tall as Mount Fuji that could only be served on rainy days. I know that she's exaggerating, but the way that she said it almost made me want to try it out for myself. As I washed my hands thoroughly, I heard some whispering outside.

"Hey, did you hear about that new freshman student?" a smooth voice asked, sounding like a boy.

"Yeah I did, but is it legit? Did he really beat up an _entire_ biker gang?" another boy asked, his voice sounding husky. I blinked in confusion at the boys gossip, finding it a little strange. How could a single student, let alone someone who is 15 or 16-years-old, beat up an entire biker gang? This rumor is way over the top.

"They say it's true" the first boy began as I grabbed a paper towel. "It was one guy verses _a_ _hundred_! And I heard that he beat the _crap_ out of them. And after he finished kicking their asses, he took over the gang and became their boss!" I sighed silently in annoyance as I threw away the now wet paper towel, grabbing another one to turn off the facet.

"What's a thug like that doing in our school?" the second boy asked.

"He should crawl out of whatever gutter he came from" the first boy sneered. I scoffed silently at their remarks, thinking how rude they were behaving. If their talking so rudely like this, then that can only make them freshman's themselves. No one has the guts to disrespect an older classmen, unless they were delinquents. There was a moment of silence with the two boys as I exited the restroom. I saw a large boy with bleach-blonde hair, scratching the back of his head in annoyance. Could he have heard the boys rumors from earlier? In the corner of my eye, I noticed a pink knitted rabbit lying on the floor next to him. The boy started to walk ahead, leaving the rabbit unattended. I walked over to it and gently picked it up. I glanced back over to the boy, staring at his tall and well built figure. I wonder...

"You dropped this" I called out hesitantly. The boy stopped and clicked his tongue, sounding annoyed as he looked over his shoulder at me. I flinched at his cold blue eyes, finding them somewhat threatening. He glanced at my extended hand and gasped softly at the knitted rabbit. His face flared red and snatched the rabbit from my hand. I noticed that he was wearing many piercings, metal jewelry, and under his school uniform a black sweater with a skull-and-crossbones design. His bleached-blonde hair was sweptback in a crew-cut, making noticeable of his scar above his left eye. The boy huffed and began to walk away, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

I was watching the news with Nanako after I came home from shopping. With nothing to do, I called Nanako with the house phone and told her that I was buying fried chicken for dinner, seeing as how they didn't have the necessary ingredients for my special menu.

The two of us were just waiting for Dojima to come back home so the three of us could figure out the plan for the family outing. However, it was starting to get late and I was growing impatient. Nanako happily ate her chicken, munching away without a care in the world.

"Isn't this fried chicken good?" Nanako asked, fulfilled with her store bought world. I nodded, finding it rather decent for store bought. I turned my attention over to the television, watching the news station flicker with headlines.

" _ **An Inaba Credit Union ATM to the north of town was destroyed today by an earth mover, and all cash inside was stolen**_ " the news reporter began. " ** _The vehicle, which was abandoned at the scene, had been reported stolen by a local contractor. Since the culprit was able to act quickly before the security guards arrived on the scene, the police have..._** " I tensed at the mention of the police, a shivering thought popping into my mind.

"Daddy's late..." Nanako finally spoke, noticing her fathers tardiness. At that moment, the phone rang and Nanako was quick to go answer it.

"Hello, Daddy? Yeah, we're okay" Nanako began, sounding so relieved to hear from Dojima. She smiled for a moment, which quickly disappeared. "Yeah... Yeah... Okay." I felt the blood on my face run cold when I noticed how disappointed Nanako looked and sounded. "I understand..." Nanako sighed and walked over to me, offering the phone shyly to me. "He said to give you the phone... He can't take those days off."

I tensed at the information, seeing Nanako's eyes beginning to glisten with tears at this point. A painfully familiar face flashed into my mind. The way Nanako was now reminded me too much of _her_. I hesitantly grabbed the phone, causing Nanako to run off to her room.

" _Hello?_ " Dojima said on his end. " _Sorry, but I'm going to be late tonight._ " I noticed how tired Dojima sounded.

" _Make sure you lock up before you go to sleep_ " Dojima continued. " _And about that time off on the 4th and the 5th... One of the younger guys got sick... And, well, that case he's handling, we can't just let it sit... Looks like I'm the only one who can take over for him._ "

"That's the way it goes..." I muttered, feeling the familiar pain of disappointment wash over me.

" _Sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden..._ " Dojima muttered as well, sounding guilty. " _Um... How's Nanako holding up?_ " The familiar face flashed into my mind, _her_ tears falling uncontrollably.

"She's crying in her room..." I replied softly. There was a small pause of dead silence.

" _Would you mind comforting her for me?_ " Dojima asked. I felt my blood boil as my eyes narrowed. The image of _her_ crying in her bed, sniffling and gasping to try and fall asleep. The red eyes the next morning...

"Then why don't you comfort her yourself?" I growled, my grip on the phone tightening.

" _I... What?_ " Dojima asked, sounding a little taken back.

"You're just like them..." I muttered, my body starting to shake. There was a moment of silence as my trembling increased.

" _Are you okay?_ " Dojima asked. I gulped, trying to repress myself.

"I'm fine" I replied, my tone signaling otherwise. Dojima didn't respond, probably too busy being sympathetic for me.

"Just take care of yourself..." I whispered, ending the call. I sighed as I gently placed the phone onto the table. I rubbed my temple together as I bit my lip. The poor girl... Alone already for so many nights with a working father. I sighed once more as I stood up, picking up the phone as well. I returned the phone to it's charger, locking the door up shortly after. I hesitantly stared into Nanako's bedroom, watching her cry softly underneath her covers. I couldn't bear to see her like this. I nodded to myself and walked over to the crying girl.

"...Nanako?" I whispered, causing Nanako to flinch in surprise. The soft sobbing stopped as I stood next to Nanako's futon.

"...Did you know that the stars in the sky are actually a fixed bright point that can make light, like the sun?" I began. I kneelt down as Nanako slowly peaked her head out the covers and looked at me with her tear soaked face.

"...Is that why they sparkle so much?" she asked, sniffling. I nodded in reply, gently brushing her bangs. Nanako continued to sniffle, as if she was a dripping faucet; trying to stop. Unable to bear it anymore, I began to hum a song. Nanako instantly stopped sniffling at the soft tones I created, bewildered by the melody. Nanako's stressed face slowly began to soften, as her eyes drooped; drifting off into slumber. I continued to hum the entire song until Nanako was sleeping soundly. I felt a warm feeling wash over me as I tucked Nanako in, wiping her face with the ends of my skirt.

"Good night... Mimi" I whispered, slowly getting up to my feet. I walked out and silently closed the door behind me. With a soft sigh, I walked up the stairs and decided to head to bed.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, May 3rd_**

It was Constitution Day, the first day of Golden Week. Having no where to go, I decided to stay home with Nanako. The two of us were already dressed as Nanako happily watched her kids show. It was some sort of anime with a magical girl detective. The art style is really cute and the sound track isn't half bad either. Maybe I should watch the series too?

As I debated whether or not to watch a children's show with Nanako, the doorbell suddenly rang. I blinked in surprise and slowly walked over to the door. Cautiously, I opened the door, and to my surprise; it was Nise.

"Good morning!" Nise chirped with a bright smile as I opened the door a little more. I blinked in surprise, a little confused at Nise's sudden presence.

"Oh, Nise-kun. Good morning, what's up?" I asked.

"Well, if you're free today, wanna go somewhere?" Nise suggested, tying his hands behind his head. "Yukiko's coming, too!" I shook my head.

"Sorry, but not today..." I politely refused. Nise blinked and noticed something standing behind me.

"Oh, are you her cousin?" Nise asked. I blinked in surprise and turned around, only to see Nanako standing right behind me, a soft blush on her cheeks. Nanako nodded her head sheepishly.

"This is Nanako Dojima. Nanako, this is my friend, Nise Satonaka" I introduced as I looked back at Nise.

"Um... Hello" Nanako greeted shyly, suddenly grabbing one end of my skirt to hide herself with. Nise chuckled and nodded.

"Hey, top of the mornin' to ya!" Nise greeted cheerfully. His smile widened as he winked at her.

"You wanna join us, Nanako-chan?" Nise asked.

"U-Um... Well I... I mean..." Nanako stammered, flustered by Nise's offer. I looked down at her and patted her head, causing her to look up at me.

"It'll be fun, so let's go together" I said with a caring tone. Nanako blushed as a smile formed on her face.

"You sure it's okay?" Nanako asked. I nodded in reply.

"Of course it is! You'll have a blast Nanako-chan, I promise!" Nise cheered, throwing his fists in the air. Nanako's smile widen and grabbed onto my hand, jumping up and down.

"Yay!" Nanako cheered as Nise began making 'wooting' noises. I blinked nervously at the loud dou, surprised at how easily swayed Nise was with kids.

"Alright! Let's go!" Nise cheered, pointing on ahead to the road next to him. Nanako giggled happily as she began to put on her shoes. I quickly walked over to the dinning table and picked up my phone and the spare key's I've been using to enter the Dojima residence. Once I slipped on my boots, the three of us were off.

* * *

Nanako, Nise, and I met up with Amagi at the Junes food court. Hanamura was still working and Amagi had just recently finished her work back at the inn. Today, Amagi was wearing a red dress and flame scarf, along with black, knee high-boots. I introduced everyone to Nanako, making her feel more welcome. Nanako, Nise, Amagi, and I all sat at one table as Hanamura brought five plates of beefsteak; as commanded by Nise.

"Ta-daa! One big beefsteak!" Hanamura said with a confident tone as he placed down Nanako and my platters down. Nanako and I exclaimed in surprise, looking at each other in awe. The others chuckled at our reactions, causing me to blush as Hanamura passed out the rest of the food.

"My god, you're slow!" Nise complained as he grabbed his plate, handing Nanako and I the necessary utensils.

"Here, dig in you two! Eat it all up!" Nise said happily as we took the utensils. Sweat dropped from my jaw at the others as Nanako unwrapped the napkin holding her knife and fork.

"Why am _I_ being treated as a kid...?" I asked shyly, pouting a little. The others laughed, causing me to blush more in confusion.

"You may have to chew it a lot. They don't have the best quality steak here" Amagi instructed, a caring smile on her face despite her harsh words.

"Aw, come on! At least don't say that stuff when I'm standing right here!" Hanamura whined as he fell onto his chair, taking off his employee apron with an exhausted sigh.

"Are you done with work now?" I asked.

"Nah, I'm just on a break" Hanamura explained.

"But bruh, why'd you bring poor Nanako-chan to a place like this on Golden Week?" Hanamura asked as I cut my steak into small pieces. I noticed in the corner of my eye that Nanako was having trouble cutting her steak. I gently took her knife and began to cut it for her as Hanamura continued to talk.

"Last time I checked, there's no where else to go!" Nise scoffed with his mouth filled with steak.

"I feel so bad for Nanako-chan, being stuck here out of all the places to go" Amagi said with a sad tone.

"You know, there _are_ worse places on earth!" Hanamura snapped. Suddenly, a familiar tone began to play as I finished cutting up Nanako's steak.

"Every day's great at your Junes~!" Nanako sang in tune with the singer over the intercom, catching everyone's attention. Nanako giggled happily as she blushed.

"I love Junes!" Nanako giggled. Hanamura's exhaustion from Amagi's cold words suddenly disappeared as his face glowed with happiness, resting his elbow on the table, leaning in towards Nanako.

"And I love Nanako-chan!" Hanamura cheered, being ignored by everyone. Well, except for me. Nanako frowned as she messed around with her cut steak.

"But we were supposed to go on a _real_ trip somewhere. We were going to make picnic baskets..." Nanako began, her tone almost sounding sad. She was probably trying to cover it up with a more chipper tone.

"Wow!" Amagi said, impressed at something as I took a bite of my steak. "You can make boxed lunches, Nanako-chan?" Nanako shook her head and turned her attention to me. Suddenly, everyone was looking at me, causing me to blush at the attention.

"So you were gonna make a mean picnic basket, huh?" Hanamura asked, an amused tone in his voice. I nodded in reply, feeling too shy to reply. Nise grinned widely as he blushed a little.

"Oh, so you're the family cook? Pretty impressive, 'big sis'!" Nise teased as I took another bite of the steak. It felt a little strange to be called that, especially by someone my age.

"Seriously, I think the fact that you were going to do that is totally impressive. It means that you've already got better cooking skills than Nise!" Hanamura laughed. Nise glared at Hanamura as his knife slowly aimed towards Hanamura's face.

"Wait a sec, what makes you think I don't know how to cook?" Nise growled. Hanamura's face paled as he raised an eyebrow at Nise.

"Well, with the way you view life; I just thought that..." Hanamura began, eyeing Nise's knife.

"Wait, _you_ can cook, Nise?" Amagi asked, shocked.

"Y-Yeah! I-I'm a pretty good cook, you know!" Nise remarked, sweat dropping from his forehead. "If you'd asked, I would've whipped up some boxed lunches. Easy as pie! Yeah...!"

"Uhh, lemme think about—no" Hanamura snapped. Nise scowled, clearly getting agitated.

"Hey, it's a survival thing to know how to cook! Let's have a cook-off and I'll show you!" Nise barked, slamming his hand onto the table, standing up. Hanamura sweat dropped at Nise's range, blinking nervously.

"My, my, doth the man protest too much? And hey, I never said I cooked. But I have this weird feeling... Like I'd win anyway" Hanamura said calmly. Amagi started laughing.

"Ahaha, I can understand that" Amagi said with a short sigh.

"What the—Yukiko?!" Nise exclaimed at Amagi. Amagi just laughed it off as Hanamura suddenly got an idea.

"Here, Nanako-chan can be our judge" Hanamura suggested as he gestured at Nanako. "I bet we'll make something that ranks up there with your mom's cooking, Nanako-chan!" I tensed at the suggestion as Nanako looked up at the others.

"I don't have a mom," Nanako remarked. "She died in an accident." Hanamura, Nise, and Amagi were shocked with Nanako's response; freezing. An intense silence formed around us as Nanako and I continued eating.

"Hey, Yosuke..." Nise whispered as he nudged Hanamura.

"I-I see... Um... Sorry, I didn't know…" Hanamura stuttered, feeling super guilty. Nanako shook her head as a smile crept onto her face.

"It's okay! Even if I don't have a Mommy, I still have my Daddy with me..." Nanako began. She paused for a moment as she looked over to me, catching my attention as she blushed. "And now I have a big sister, too."

"Plus, I got to visit Junes today! And it's really fun!" Nanako giggled. The others were stunned by Nanako's response, smiles of their own forming. Hanamura suddenly stand up as he and Nise leaned in towards Nanako.

"Anytime you want someone to play with you, Nanako-chan, just let us know! We'll be there!" Nise said with a wide smile. Amagi nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, just ask us okay? We should hangout more often" Amagi giggled. Nanako giggled as she looked at everyone. Her smile told us all that she was really happy.

"Okay, thanks!" Nanako chirped. I finished off my steak as I watched her and everyone smile. A warm and soothing feeling washed over me as I watched them, talking rapidly, not letting another person to respond. It was a good thing for Nanako to have so many new friends now.

* * *

 ** _Thursday, May 5th_**

I calmly combed my short silver hair, thinking of what to do today. Today is Children's Day, so that makes most toys half off. As I continued to comb my hair, my iPhone suddenly rang. I blinked in surprise, wondering who could be calling me. I put my comb down and picked up my phone, seeing that it was Nise.

With a push of the talk button, I out the iPhone to my ear and said, "Good morning, Nise-kun."

" _Yo, good mornin'!_ " Nise chirped, sounding very energetic despite the time.

"What's up?" I asked, fixing my hair a little.

" _Well, I could really use your help with somethin'_ " Nise began. " _Ah... You know what? That's kind of a lie... To be honest, everyone else has plans today and I don't wanna be by myself, you know? So I was hoping we could hang out!_ " I blinked a little in surprise at his request. I was hoping to explore parts of Inaba that I don't really visit today... But hanging out with Nise would be a lot more fun that exploring by myself.

"Alright, sure" I replied with a nod. Nise cheered on his end, showing how excited he was.

" _Sweet! Thanks a lot, Narukami-chan!_ " Nise laughed. " _I'll be right over!_ " I hung up and put my cell phone into my pocket. With a soft sigh, I stood up and started to get ready.

* * *

"Hmmm, this looks like a good spot" Nise smiled as he turned to me. Nise had picked me up at the Dojima residence a few minutes ago and we walked towards the Samegawa Flood Plain. He was rather persistent on having me change my outfit into something else with sweat pants. So I changed into a two tank tops, a black one underneath of a green one, and black sweats. I gave him a confused look, not really understanding what we were about to do.

"Y'know, for training! I need to hone my kicking skills, or I won't be able to use them in battle!" Nise laughed, noticing my expression.

"Can you not train at home? What happened?" I asked, blinking in surprise. Nise laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I tried practicing at home... Buuutttt my mom and dad yelled at me for putting a hole in the shoji!" Nise explained sheepishly, an embarrassed blush falling onto his face. I stared at him as he laughed sheepishly. Maybe I should get him a punching bag...

"Anyways, now's the time to train, right?! After all, it's about to rain soon, so that means that someone else is probably gonna get thrown in!" Nise said with a determined tone, quick to change the subject.

"True. We need to stay sharp" I agreed, crossing my arms over my chest. Nise grinned widely.

"You think so, too?!" Nise laughed. His laughter abruptly stopped as he realized something.

"Oh, I completely forgot to ask! I was wondering if we could train together!" Nise said quickly. I nodded in reply, telling him that I was okay with training with him. Although, I was a bit surprised by his offer. Nise's smile widened even more as he did a thumbs up.

"Yesss! Thanks, Narukami-chan! Let's start off with some running!" Nise suggested. I nodded and the two of us began to run.

The two of us worked hard the entire day, practicing multiple things until it was near sunset. We decided to call it a day after Nise had nearly lost a shoe in the river due to improperly tying his shoelaces. I searched the river as Nise cried, thinking that he was never going to find it. It was the first time that Nise had ever fully cried in front of me. It was a bit cute, I must admit.

"Thanks again, Narukami-chan... And also, I'm really sorry..." Nise sniffled as he tied his shoe back on, his face red with embarrassment.

"No problem" I replied, shaking my head. My lower body had gotten wet in the process, but I didn't mind. I was able to find his shoe after all which made him stop crying.

"Although, to be perfectly honest" I began, wanting to change the subject as I took a seat on a nearby bench next to Nise. "I was a little surprised that you wanted me to train with you. And that you cried in front of me." Nise flinched at my words as a gentle breeze blew over us. Nise's face turned even more red as he looked away from me.

"That thing..." Nise began. "Y'know, from that time? I mean the... Shadow that came out of me..." Nise sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I feel pathetic knowing that's another 'me.' It makes me feel like I gotta work harder. Girls are able to do whatever they want, and I shouldn't try to stop them. I mean, girls rarely cry. So... Little by little, I'm gonna... _Try_ to accept that girls will do what they want, even if it's meant for guys and stop being such a crybaby." I nodded in approval as I saw a fire in Nise's eyes.

"Good for you, Nise-kun. That's what I like to see" I said with a gentle tone. Nise's face turned even more red as he smiled a little, chuckling. After another nice breeze, Nise jumped to his feet and pumped his hands into the air.

"Allllright, let's do it! Between you and me, we'll be unstoppable!" Nise cheered. I could tell that this marked the beginning of my training sessions with Nise. I can also tell that my relationship with him has grown a bit deeper.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

After an exhausting day with Nise, I spent the evening watching television with Nanako to relax my muscles.

" _ **The prime suspect in yesterday's ATM robbery in northern Inaba was arrested earlier today. The alleged thief is Pumena Sushin, a 26-year-old former employee of the company which reported the stolen vehicle. According to the police investigation, Pumena Sushin was...**_ " The news reporter stated as he continued on with facts I didn't really care for. I was relived that they had caught the criminal. The sound of the front door opening caught my attention.

"I'm home" a familiar, exhausted voice called out, causing Nanako to jump up. Nanako was quite enthusiastic to go greet her father, as she ran over to the door.

"How many days is he gonna call in sick? These rookies lately sure are—" Dojima muttered, suddenly being cut off by Nanako's jump, letting out a huff of surprise.

"Welcome back!" Nanako cheered. I watched the two of them enter the living room, Nanako's face practically glowing. Dojima's tired face slowly began to turn more energetic as a smile formed. Dojima sat down to my left of the table as Nanako sat down across from me like earlier.

"Nanako... I'm sorry I broke my promise again..." Dojima said sadly, sounding guilty.

"Oh, um, my big sis and her friends played with me instead!" Nanako cheered, practically beaming. Dojima turned his attention to me as his eyes widened in surprise.

"I see..." Dojima said with a surprised tone. He smiled as he ruffled my hair.

"Thanks" Dojima muttered. I nodded in reply.

"Oh, that's a Junes bag! What's in it?" Nanako exclaimed, drawing attention to the bag Dojima had brought with him. Dojima grinned as he put the bag on top of the table.

"Haha, good eye. Well, today is Children's Day... So I brought you a present" Dojima explained. I stared at Dojima as he pulled out a white t-shirt. He handed the shirt to Nanako, who happily accepted it.

"Yaaaay!" Nanako cheered with a bright smile smiled as she held up the t-shirt, letting it unfold. "Oooh, a t-shirt!" Dojima laughed, looking a little embarrassed.

"Haha, took me a while to decide what to get you. You like it?" he asked. Nanako didn't reply as she continued to examine her gift.

"Oh wow, there's a picture on the front!" Nanako laughed as she looked at the picture, which looked like a platypus. "That's so funny! Ahaha, yay!" I stared at Nanako's smiling face, glad that she got a present from her father. I felt a familiar pain of envy wash over me as my straight and proper sitting positing began to slouch.

"I got you one, too" Dojima began, catching my attention. "Not that you're still a child or anything, but fair's fair." I stared at the item Dojima was holding out to me. I didn't know what to do, so I continued staring.

"C'mon, take it" Dojima said as he nudged the item towards me. "It's yours." I hesitantly took the item and held it out. It was a lovely green and white small pouch. I opened it up and saw that it was filled with various hair pins, hair ties, and head bands with various decorations on it; such as bows, mini hats, or flowers.

"T-Thank you..." I replied shyly, a little unused to obtaining gifts.

"Don't mention it!" Dojima laughed as he smiled at me. "I thought that with your hair always down like it is, you might want some stuff to hold it. I didn't know what you liked so I grabbed that packet." I slowly closed the bag up again and looked over at Dojima. Dojima's smile was so comforting and genuine, I was starting to feel more welcomed here than ever before.

"Well then... Let's eat" Dojima sighed as he pulled out a few boxes of food. Nanako and I nodded as Nanako began telling Dojima what happened at Junes with my friends and I. I could tell that it was going to be a lively dinner tonight.

...

...

...

* * *

10/12/16

Yo, how's it going everyone? Phantom here! :D

I just wanted to thank everyone who has been reading the story so far. I hope you're enjoying it. :)  
I also want to thank Black2Nerdy for showing me some love when I first submitted the story here on . I think that reviews are the best way in letting me know that people are enjoying or hating the story which really motivates me to continue onward with it. A big thanks to Vangran as well, who has been the most active recently in reviewing my chapters. As I said, it really means a lot. :)

Now, before you leave, PersonaInsane had asked me a question last chapter. They said the following: "Are there going to be any pairings in this story?" The answer to that is...  
Yes. But **_you_** have to tell **_me_** who is gonna be shipped with who.

I prefer to have my stories satisfy the vast majority of my readers. My OHSHC fanfic over at Quotev is starting to be considered a classic not only because I made it so dramatic, but because I would take notes on the comments and shape the story slightly based on that. There ended up being 3 endings to that fanfic based on a poll I had everyone take. Lots of people were happy with it, which made my happy that my hard work pay off. So if you start having feelings for one character and one characters to be together, be sure to add it in your review so then I can make your shipping fantasies come true ( **Lol** ).

Again, thank you all so much for reading and I hope you have been enjoying this. Really hypes you up for Persona 5, huh? Did you know it was ranked #3 for the most popular game in Japan? So much HYPE! XD  
Anyways, have a fantastic day everyone. :3


	10. Midterms

**_Friday, May 6th_**

With Golden Week over, it was back to school for me. It was a little difficult to wake up this morning, getting used to waking up late thanks to the brake.

On my way to school, I heard the high squeaking sounds behind me, causing me to look over my shoulder. I saw that it was Hanamura, pushing his bike with an annoyed expression on his face. I stopped walking and turned around, my eyes glancing around the bike. It looked as if it was recently fixed, the paint a little brighter than last time I saw it.

"Good morning, Hanamura" I greeted as Hanamura slowly got closer to me. Hearing his name, Hanamura looked up in response; his annoyed expression disappearing as a smile formed on his face.

"Yo!" Hanamura greeted as he stopped pushing his bike in front of me. He scowled as it made a final squeak, before becoming silent.

"Dammit, I just fixed this thing... It's making squeaking sounds again" Hanamura grumbled, clearly upset about his bike. He quickly shook his head and looked at me, a guilty look on his face.

"Hey, by the way... I'm sorry about the other day..." Hanamura began as he rubbed the back of his head, his eyes drifting away to the side. "You know, about what I said to Nanako-chan."

"Don't worry about it. None of you guys, myself included, knew about Nanako's mother's death. Accidents like that happen, so don't beat yourself over it" I reassured.

"Heh, you really know how to make a guy feel better" Hanmura chuckled, a look of relief falling on his face. "Anyway, after hanging out with Nanako-chan... I feel even stronger that we have to solve this case." I nodded in agreement, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm counting on you" I said with a nod. Hanamura grind as a soft blush covered his cheeks.

"Hehe... Same to you!" Hanamura replied. I slid my hand off Hanamura's shoulder, and the two of us began to walk towards the school.

"Oh, hey" Hanamura began, ignoring the squeaking sounds his bike was making, "Y'know, Nise and Yukiko seem different lately... They seem a lot closer."

"I would be shocked if they weren't..." I replied bluntly. "I mean, after what happened back in that other world..."

"True..." Hanamura agreed softly. The two of us continued to walk in silence, the sound of constant squeaking accompanying us. After a bit, Hanamura growled and hanged his head low, catching my attention.

"Uugh... Man, school's such a chore. And now my bike's messed up too..." Hanamura whined.

"Well, the roads are much wider here than in the city" I commented as I looked forward, taking note of how wide the road was. With very little people and transportation occupying the streets, it certainly appears a lot wider than the roads back over in Tokyo.

"Huh, yeah that's true..." Hanamura hummed, thinking about something. "Well, I _do_ keep speeding... So I guess that did it." Hanamura exhaled a long and heavy sigh, scratching the left side of his head.

"Oh well. Until I get my motorcycle license, I'll just have to walk" Hanamura muttered. I looked at him in surprise at the information.

"Motorcycle? Are you planning on getting one?" I asked, a little stunned. Hanamura looked at me and smiled brightly.

"Yeah! Back in the city, I actually wanted to buy one for a while!" Hanamura confessed. "But when my family moved here, I decided to stick with this old thing." Hanamura lightly kicked the front tire of his bike, showing me how much he disliked it and its squeaking.

"What made you think about getting a motorcycle again?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. Hanamura looked back over to me and smiled sheepishly, a small chuckle escaping.

"Well, to be honest, when my dad gave me a job at Junes; I kinda thought, 'hey, maybe now I can get that bike!' And since no one knew me here for a while, I thought about using it to pick up chicks but..." Hanamura began. His voice trailed off as he sighed. "Well, you know... I quickly became infamous, so that plan went down the drain." I stared at Hanamura with a wry expression. He certainly likes trying to impress women, doesn't he?

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

Classes went by as usual, with nothing much really happening. Thankfully for me, that meant I didn't have to take _too_ many notes for Hanamura.

Once school was over, everyone gathered around Nise and my desk; Hanamura and Amagi standing in front of us.

"Ugh..." Nise groaned, holding his head up with his right hand; his elbow resting on his desk. "Why do the holidays have to end so fast...?"

"At least they were peaceful," Hanamura remarked. "I listened in on the housewives gossiping at Junes, but it doesn't seem like anything happened..." I sighed softly as I leaned back in my chair a little.

"That's good to hear," I commented softly. The others nodded in agreement, just as glad as I was about the town's safety.

"You know, I haven't heard anything about someone disappearing suddenly, either..." Nise began, looking over at Amagi with a questioning look. "Y'think Yukiko could've been the last of the victims?" The group went silent for a bit as we all looked down, avoiding eye contact. The dreadful kidnappings and murder cases... For them to end like this, I don't think it's over. If the culprit is in fact related to the Mayumi Yamano affair, then there are plenty of people that will be thrown into the television. From what I gathered, Miss Yamano was a rather big news reporter for a local television station, meaning that she must have interviewed with a lot of people. Why would those people be targeted from the culprit? That's one mystery I still have to figure out.

With a small sigh of disappointment, I muttered loud enough for the group to hear "Sadly, I doubt this is over..." Nise hummed in sadness, his eyes closing as if he were about to take a nap.

"I have to agree with Narukami-chan. There's just too much we don't know," Amagi began, catching our attention. "We shouldn't relax as long as the culprit remains at large."

"I wonder..." Hanamura began as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Will someone show up on TV again if it rains? If we only knew a little more about who the killer might be..." There was another pause of silence as Hanamura's voice trailed off.

"Eh, it's no good fretting it over now!" Nise said with a wave of his left hand, seeming as if he wasn't too worried. "If someone does show up on the Midnight Channel, then we'll deal with it. It's supposed to start raining soon, but I hope this weather holds through next week...You know... Midterms." Hanamura and Nise instantly groaned in unison at the word, a sulking aura surrounding them.

"Ugh, you _had_ to go bring _that_ up..." Hanamura grimaced. "I don't wanna think about it." Nise sighed, slowly nodding in agreement.

"I wish I had Yukiko's gift for studying..." Nise sighed, as he face planted onto his desk. I blinked in realization, remembering all the notes I had copied for Hanamura. I picked up my bag that had sat next to me and opened it up, quickly pulling out an orange notebook. I offered it to Hanamura, causing him to blink in surprise at my action.

"Here Hanamura, I copied my notes in here for you" I explained. Hanamura's face brightened as he grabbed the notebook from my hand.

"Whoa, seriously?! Thanks!" Hanamura exclaimed. I nodded, telling him that it wasn't a big deal.

"Of course. After all those times I had to save you in class, I thought it was necessary to take those notes for you. Being half awake and half asleep, people tend not to fully listen to who's speaking" I explained. Hanamura smiled brightly as tears fell down his face, hugging the notebook to his chest.

"You're so kind, Narukami-chan! You're really saving my ass!" Hanamura sobbed happily. Amagi smiled at Nise, who had been staring at Hanamura with a strange look, and patted Nise's head.

"You can borrow my notes if you want, Nise" Amagi offered, her smile and suggestion almost sounding natural. Nise blinked at Amagi's voice and looked at her. After a very short pause, Nise nodded thanks as he smiled.

"Yeah, thanks, Yukiko. That'd be great! I'll borrow 'em once you're done studying" Nise replied with a bright smile. Amagi nodded with a smile at the subtle instructs Nise gave. Nise stood up as he grabbed his bag, a triumphant look on his face.

"Now that I have Yukiko's amazing notes, I'm going to go and eat over at Aiya's place!" Nise announced.

"Huh? You're not going to go study?" Hanamura asked, sounding confused and perhaps even a bit annoyed. Nise shrugged as he began to walk backwards out the classroom.

"I only have a few more days of freedom, you know? I might as well do what I want before studying!" Nise explained with a smile. He gave a thumbs up with a big grin before turning around and leaving the classroom.

"What are you going to do, Amagi-san?" I asked as I looked over to Amagi, catching her attention. She smiled sheepishly as she grabbed her bag.

"I think I'm going to spend some time in the library and study. I want to cover the material I'm bad at and make some extra notes before I give Nise my notebook"Amagi explained. I nodded, understanding her reasons.

"Wow, that's Yukiko for ya. Studying whenever she's free" Hanamura whistled in admiration. Amagi's face reddened slightly as she nodded goodbye to us and quickly leaving the classroom. I grabbed my bag as I stood up with a soft sigh, wondering what I should do today. I could always go straight home and study for midterms. But at the same time, I wanted to have a day off like Nise. I debated back and forth between the two options, uncertain of what to do.

"Hey, Narukami-chan!" I suddenly heard Hanamura began, catching my attention. I looked at him and blinked.

"Want to go to Okina City with me?" he asked with a smile. I turned my body to him, showing that I was intrigued by his sudden offer.

"Okina City? Do you mean the city not to far from here?" I asked, wanting to make sure I had my information right. Hanamura nodded, a small chuckle escaping. I tilted my head to the side slightly, curiosity building in me.

"Why do you want to go to Okina City?" I asked. Hanamura opened up his orange book bag and carefully placed my notebook that I had given to him inside, his eyes still locked with mine.

"Well, there's this movie out that I've actually been really wanting to see. I got my pay a few days ago and decided to go and check it out" Hanamura explained. I nodded in understanding, still a bit confused as to why he was inviting me.

"Just like Nise said, we only have a few days of certain freedom. Knowing you, you might have just decided to go home and study like Yukiko. But with all the things you've been through saving everybody, you deserve a well earned break! So, why not go together?" Hanamura finished, a bright smile plastered on his face. He certainly did have a point. I've been injured so many times because of how reckless I can be, risking myself for the team. Watching a movie with Hanamura doesn't sound half bad, and knowing him; it could be a comedy.

"Alright, sure. I'll go with you" I replied with a nod. Hanamura's face brightened so much, more than I have ever seen, and began to run over to the door.

"Well then what are we waiting for?! We only have twenty minutes before the train comes! If we miss this one, we'll have to wait an hour!" Hanamura laughed, a strange and blinding glow surrounding him. The corners of my mouth twitched as I began to jog after him, hearing his rapid calls for me to hurry up echo in the classroom from the hallway.

* * *

Hanamura and I quickly ran over to the train station, being able to reach it in time. Just before we got on the train, Hanamura sent a quick text to a friend for them to pick up his bike and bring it home. As he did so, I stared at the train station in shock. The last time I went to Okina city was with Ebihara. And both times, the train station never looked this crowded since it was before school started and during lunch. Since it was after school, there were so many students and business men forcing themselves on. It almost reminded me of the train stations over in the city. I suddenly became a bit nervous, tugging my skirt down a little.

"Alright, come on let's go!" I heard Hanamura cheer, pushing me forward from behind towards the train. Once I began to walk, Hanamura happily jogged over to the train- entering it with no problems at all. Hesitantly, I jogged forward towards the train was much more crowded than I had expected, only allowing me enough room to stand in front of the doors that I entered. My heart began to pound as the train beginning to move forward. I couldn't look over my shoulder to see if Hanamura was right behind me or if it was someone else. Unconsciously, my legs tightened as the fabric from my pantyhose touched. I haven't become a victim of molestation before in the city, and most certainly don't want to become one here. I just hope that Hanamura is standing behind me.

I gasped softly as the train shook a little, causing the person behind me to become slightly closer to me. I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down. Everything was going to be okay. Everything will be okay. Nothing will happen to me, nothing will happen to me. The train suddenly shook again, a lot stronger this time, causing my body to almost slam into the doors in front of me. I shivered slightly as I heard the sound of something slamming to the doors. My eyes squeezed even more tightly than before, begging in my mind that it wasn't a molester. I suddenly felt a hand on my right shoulder, causing my eyes to flash open. The hand quickly let go of my shoulder and slammed onto the doors as the train shook once more.

"Sorry, hope I didn't scare ya" I heard a familiar voice whispered. I looked over my shoulder and saw Hanamura holding himself away from me with the doors, our faces uncomfortably close. Hanamura's face turned red as he stood up straight.

"S-Sorry" Hanamura apologized softly. My pounding heart instantly calmed down, now knowing that Hanamura was standing behind me. I let out a soft sigh of relief and looked forward.

"It's okay. Knowing that you're behind me and not a stranger calms me down" I whispered. The rest of the train ride was silent between us after that, not wanting to be disrespectful to the other passengers.

Once we arrived to Okina City after school, the city bursted with lively chatter from students who got out of school and businessmen talking on the phones. We were now standing in front of Okina Station after going down the escalators.

"Mmmm… It's been a while since I breathed this kinda air!" Hanamura sighed with relief, stretching his arms up into the air. "Y'know, I'm just a poor little city boy drawn to that urban scent. Wait a minute…Am I starting to sound like Berry?" I shook my head to reassure him.

"Berry's cute…" I commented. Hanamura furrowed his brow at my words, crossing his arms.

"Cute…? I dunno about that, but I guess she's the type you can't ignore. Hey, wait! Are you saying that I'm not cute—" Hanamura began, when his iPhone suddenly went off. Hanamura pulled out his iPhone from his pocket with surprised eyes.

"Oh, a text message" Hanamura muttered. He pushed a few buttons on the screen and began to read, when he suddenly made a face.

"More spam… Looks like someone got my address. Man, I get so much spam, it's annoying…" Hanamura grumbled, pushing a few more buttons before putting his iPhone into his pockets.

"Why not change addresses?" I asked politely, not wanting to sound like I was telling him to.

"Hmm, well…" Hanamura began, his face looking troubled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I haven't changed addresses since before we moved to Inaba. I mean, I might get a text from someone. It's hard to call, y'know. If I called people just to tell them my number changed, they'd get annoyed. And some of them never planned to text me anyway…" I fumed as I stared at him, small curiosity forming in me as I began to wonder what Hanamura's life in the city was like.

"Oh, but hey, don't look at me like I don't have any friends!" Hanamura suddenly began, his face looking somewhat flustered. "'Cause, I did before I met you. Though, to tell you the truth, I don't remember what we all used to talk about." A nostalgic look fell on Hanamura's face as he looked down at his shoes.

"I guess you can't really call 'em friends…Inaba suits me just fine. Plus…I got something I need to do there" Hanamura muttered, his eyes slowly looking over at me, our eyes locking. I blinked in confusion, tilting my head slightly. After a moment, Hanamura raised his head and laughed.

"I'm counting on ya, partner!" Hanamura said with a big smile, patting my head. I stared at him for a bit as he began to laugh again. Hanamura has truly been through a lot... I could sense his enthusiasm.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

"Welcome back!"

I stood in silence at the surprising appearance of Dojima, who was present this time around instead of Nanako. Dojima was sitting at the kitchen table, with a newspaper at hand as he stared at me with a welcoming smile.

"Ah... You're home early" I replied awkwardly, still recovering from the surprise. Dojima chuckled at my reaction and opened up his newspaper, instantly turning a page. As Dojima read the newspaper, I peeked over to the stairway where Nanako's room was at.

"I had Nanako go to bed early today. She told me that she wasn't feeling well when I got home, so I gave her some medicine and tucked her in" Dojima explained, causing me to stiffen at his voice. Calming down my heart, I placed my bag down on the ground leaning onto the stairway.

"Say, how're things for you, Hitomi?" I heard Dojima ask, causing me to turn to him. He was still reading his newspaper, but I could tell that he had intentions of stopping soon by the way he held the paper. "You should be used to life here by now...C'mon, talk to me."

"Ah... Okay" I replied, shyly. Dojima smiled a little at my response and folded up his newspaper, placing it onto the table.

"Well, have a seat" Dojima suggested as he gestured at the empty seat across from him. I nodded in reply and obediently sat on the chair he had gestured to me.

"We haven't had time to talk like this since you got here, huh?" Dojima began. I shook my head in reply.

"No, not really" I agreed, staring at Dojima who was rather relaxed. Dojima stayed silent after that. He seemed as if he was struggling to think of a topic to discuss.

"Uhhh... Well, how's school?" Dojima asked, a smile nervously forming.

"Interesting. The teachers there are all rather unique" I began. "Although, they tend to pick on me due to the fact that I'm from the city. In it's own way however, it's rather fun." Dojima's smile slowly began to relax into a more natural smile as he rested his right arm on the table.

"I see" Dojima said with an amused tone. "That's good to hear. Your school days will be over before you know it. Make sure you have fun while you can." Dojima began to nod to himself, as if recalling his high school days. It was interesting to watch him nod so calmly.

"What else...?" Dojima mused, looking up to the ceiling in thought. "Oh, yeah... How about your friends? I heard a lot from Nanako about them. It looks like you've made plenty of 'em."

"Yes, I actually have..." I replied with a nod. Dojima's face suddenly turned sour as he scowled. I tensed up by this reaction, the blood from my face slowly draining.

"I, um... Is that bad?" I asked, being nervous. Dojima stared at me for a moment before he sighed softly and shook his head.

"No, of course not. I'm not saying who you can and can't hang out with, but..." Dojima began. His expression suddenly turned serious as his eyes started to stare at me, nearly piercing my own eyes. "You know what I'm talking about, right?" I blinked nervously in confusion and slowly shook my head.

"I... Don't believe I do..." I replied hesitantly. Dojima's piercing eyes suddenly became a little irritated as Dojima readjusted in his seat.

"Are you being straight with me?" Dojima asked. I stared nervously at him as he continued to stare directly at me. I was clueless as to what Dojima was talking about.

"You're gonna have to be a little specific..." I suggested shyly, as I slowly began to slide down my chair, hoping to disappear. Dojima sighed with a tired look, his eyes closed as he waved his hand at me, telling me to stop trying to hide. I stopped obediently and slowly sat back up straight.

"For some reason, whenever there's an incident, there you are..." Dojima began to explain, causing me to blink in surprise. "I wish I didn't have to consider this, but... the killings began around the time you came to town." Dojima looked back over at me as his hand rested back onto the table.

"My job is all about eliminating the random element," Dojima explained. "I look only at the facts. If you keep getting caught up in my job, then..." Dojima's voice began to trail, making him sound threatening. I gulped silently as I continued to stare back at his piercing eyes.

"What's wrong?" a drowsy voice asked, catching Dojima and my attention. It was Nanako, who was dressed in her pink matching pajamas. She looked tired, but also a little angry at Dojima.

"Big Sis didn't do anything bad..." Nanako muttered as she frowned at Dojima. She must have heard our conversation.

"I-I know. I didn't mean it like that" Dojima stammered.

"But you're bullying her..." Nanako grumbled as she looked at me with concern. I felt my heart throb at Nanako's concerned eyes, _her_ image appearing in my mind.

"I'm not bullying her," Dojima explained. "We were just having a little talk. It's getting late... Go back to sleep." Nanako, being too tired and unwell to continue, obediently nodded

"Okay..." Nanako yawned as she wobbled back to her room. Once she was gone with the soft sound of a door closing, Dojima sighed and looked back at me.

"Sheesh... She's really taking a shine to you" Dojima said with a small tone of jealousy. I blinked nervously at him and averted my eyes over to the spot where Nanako was once standing.

"I... I guess..." I replied softly, not wanting to anger Dojima. There was a long pause of uncomfortable silence, the sound of the clock ticking.

"Look, Hitomi..." Dojima began, causing me to glance back at him. He looked a lot calmer now, and even a bit guilty. "I just don't want you to get yourself involved in anything dangerous." I blinked in surprise at Dojima's caring words, giving him my full attention.

"You don't seem like the type of girl who would, so it's most likely that you have bad luck but..." Dojima continued. "As long as you're safe, everything's fine. Your parents didn't ask me to raise your grades or anything." I nodded in response, feeling a little disappointed to hear that, but... Dojima seemed genuinely worried about me. These were the sort of talks that I never had with my parents after the incidents... It was actually rather refreshing to have these sorts of conversations again, and I could feel a bound beginning to form between him and I.

* * *

 ** _Saturday, May 7th_**

"Hosoi? Have you picked up the latest edition of 'Bullied Teacher' yet?" one of the female student asked Hosoi at the beginning of class. Hosoi nodded in reply, a smile forming on his face.

"Of course I did. But it's raining today. I hope I can get it home without getting it all wet..." Hosoi replied. He thought for a moment before smiling nervously at the class.

"So, uh, does anyone have an extra book cover they'd be kind enough to lend me?" Hosoi asked. A few students replied, saying that they had one but he wasn't able to use it. Soon, the classroom began to buzz with chatter, just like it always does before the bell rang.

"Whoops, I have to start the lecture!" Hosoi gasped, quickly focusing his attention back on the lesson. "Ahem. Today, we're going to discuss 'Kokoro' by Soseki Natsume. Open your textbooks. Before we get to the actual literature, I'll ask a question about Soseki himself. Hmm, how about Narukami-chan, the city girl." I blinked in surprise at the mention of my name, standing up on instinct.

"Do you know how Soseki Natsume translated the English phrase 'I love you' into Japanese?" Hosoi asked, looking expectantly at me. I gasped softly as my face flared up in embarrassment. I looked down at me feet and shuffled a bit, trying to recall the translation. I was actually rather embarrassed about saying it out loud.

Feeling the eyes of my classmates, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and answered, "'T-The moon is beautiful, i-isn't it?'" I heard Hosoi chuckle a bit, causing me to sit back down in my chair.

"It seems that you're not only very knowledgeable, but get rather flustered easily as well" Hosoi said in a teasing manner. My face continued to glow red as I grabbed a pencil and nervously wrote down some notes.

"Yep, he translated it as, 'The moon is beautiful, isn't it?'" Hosoi began, continuing the lecture. "By the way, the person who translated it as 'I could die' was Shimei Futabatei, another prominent Meiji-era writer. Though he translated it from Russian, not English... It's still similar in that they didn't do direct translations. Back then, in Japan there wasn't the same direct expression of love that we have now, so they had to get creative. It's a subtle, endearing translation, much like the Japanese language itself. Anyway, let's get back into 'Kokoro.'" I let out a soft sigh as my face finally began to cool down and opened my textbook. Nise poked my arm and smirked at me. We leaned in to each other a little so he could whisper something.

"Not used to the word, 'love', huh?" Nise teased. My face flared red again as I quickly straightened up, flipping the pages rapidly. I heard Nise chuckle at my reaction, causing my face to burn even more red.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

By the time classes were over, it was still raining outside. I was talking to Amagi and Nise when the sound of thunder rumbling caught our attention. I looked over at the window and realized how dark it had became. There were leaves swirling around, as if dancing quickly to the fast beat of the wind.

"Hey Nise, I bought you a new copy of that 'Trial of the Dragon' flick" Hanamura said as he made his way over to us, catching my attention. "It was a Greatest Punches version for 980 yen. If I knew then, I'd have just replaced it instead of buying you grilled steak." Suddenly, lightning flashed, causing the classroom to became a little more brighter as the sound of thunder grew nearer.

"That's _clearly_ getting closer...!" I heard Nise grumble. I turned around in my seat to see that he was fidgeted in his seat, sweat forming on his face. I blinked in surprise at Nise's actions, slowly starting to worry about his well being.

"Huh...? What are you, scared of a little lightning?" Hanamura asked, his tone sounding playful. Nise blushed in embarrassment as he scowled.

"Quiet, you! I'd be a goner if even _one_ of those things hit me!" Nise snarled in a threatening manner, his eyes starting to become glossy with tears. Lightning flashed again and a loud clap of thunder practically shook the room after the flash, causing Nise to scream a little. Nise covered his ears and screwed his eyes shut. I noticed that his body beginning to tremble from fear.

"Hahaha, you're freakin' out way too much man!" I heard Hanamura laugh, as if he found Nise's fear amusing. "C'mon, shouldn't weather like this help with your kung-fu training? A bolt of lightning would hit and it'd give you the inspiration for a new move! There was a scene like that in your DVD, wasn't there?" Nise stood up and glared at Hanamura, grabbing his collar. I gasp softly in surprise at Nise's sudden actions, being pushed a little from Nise's legs, only to hit Hanamura's legs. I blinked nervously at the strange position I had found myself in.

"You jerk! A bolt of lightning would kill a man, you hear me!? KILL!" Nise shouted. He let go of Hanamura's collar and pointed at him, giving me some room to adjust my seating.

"If lightning has to strike someone, let it be this guy!" Nise declared, as if he was a commander of a war leader on the battlefield, telling his subordinates to attack the enemy. Suddenly, everything went white as a bright flash of lightning practically blinded everyone temporarily. Then was quickly accompanied by an extremely loud crack of thunder that managed to shake the room. The lights went out, causing everyone in the room to gasp.

"Huh?" I heard Amagi gasp. "Is this a blackout?" I blinked rapidly to try and adjust my eyesight to the darkness.

"It appears so..." I answered, managing to make out Amagi's facial outline. Soon, rays of light formed throughout the room as people took out their iPhones, using the flashlight app. Hanamura did the same thing and flashed the light to Nise's face, causing Nise to cover his eyes with his arm.

"That's what you get for saying that stuff, Nise..." Hanamura sighed in a slightly angry way. But Hanamura's anger quickly disappeared as a smile formed on his face.

"Looks like I better hurry up and head to work. Depending on how produce sells today, I might get a little bonus in my pay for the week. This weather may keep customers away, but I gotta do my best if I'm gonna save up for a motorcycle!" Hanamura cheered as he picked up his orange book bag. Suddenly, his iPhone began to ring, turning off the flashlight app.

"Huh? It's from my dad..." Hanamura said out loud. Hanamura answered with a simple, "Hello?" Despite being relevantly near me, I couldn't hear what the other person on the line was saying. Whoever and whatever they were talking about caused Hanamura's eyes to widen in shock.

"Wait, what?!" Hanamura exclaimed, looking baffled from what I could tell. "But my pay..." There was a pause before Hanamura hung up on the call, the flashlight app turning back on. Slowly, Hanamura turned his head to Nise. Nise, who had sat back down again, started to fidget in his seat again as Hanamura continued to glare.

"What're you looking at me for?!" Nise asked, his voice a lot louder from before.

"Ugh, why did this have to happen?!" Hanamura whined, his head dropping low in shock. I couldn't help but blink in worry and curiosity.

"Hey, Yukiko... Can we just go home?" Nise asked Amagi in a pleading manner. I turned my attention over to the two as Amagi smiled happily at something.

"Nise, do you know this story?" Amagi asked as her smile widened. "A girl forgot her homework, so she snuck into school in the middle of the night, but she suddenly needed to use the bathroom... She ventured into the girl's' room, where all the lights were off. No one should have been there, but in the mirror..." Nise yelped in fear as he stood up, interrupting Amagi's story.

"H-H-H-Hold it r-right there!" Nise shouted, his hands trembling as he slammed his hands onto his desk, leaning towards Amagi's face with tears in his eyes. "W-What're you talking about?!" Amagi blinked in surprise at Nise's behavior, leaning back a little.

"Huh? It's a ghost story. I thought you liked them" Amagi replied, confused by Nise's reaction.

"Yeah, but why tell me _now_?!" Nise growled weakly. At this point, his body was trembling uncontrollably, and looked as if the tears he has been able to hold in was on the verge of falling. I stood up and gently grabbed Nise's sleeve, causing him to turn his attention to me.

"It's alright Nise-kun... Everything will be alright, okay?" I said softly, trying to calm him down. Nise's face blushed a little as he nodded a thank you, a grateful smile on his face.

"Thanks... I'm glad you're here..." Nise sighed, his trembling starting to disappear. Suddenly, a loud thunder and another lightening flashed, causing the room to erupt in gasps and screams.

"AUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nise screamed as he hugged me tightly, nearly causing us to fall backwards.

"N-Nise-kun! Y-You're squishing me...!" I choked out, struggling to stand with Nise latched onto me. It took a moment before Nise heard me, a soft gasp escaping him as he realized the position we were in. He let go of me rather quickly, causing me to stumble backwards, tripping over my chair. Thankfully, Hanamura caught me before I fell, carefully pushing me back to my feet.

"S-S-S-S-S-Sorry!" Nise stuttered violently. I shook my head, rubbing my arms that started to ache a bit.

"It's... It's fine" I panted, calming down my heart that has been racing like crazy. I heard Hanamura sigh behind me, catching my attention.

"Sheesh, is there anything you're _not_ afraid of?" Hanamura asked in a slightly playful, yet annoyed tone. Nise's face flushed red as he scowled at Hanamura.

"A-Are you making fun of me?!" Nise growled, his face burning even more red.

"Well, yeah... With how freaked out you are, can you blame me?" Hanamura huffed. At that moment, the lights went back on, earning an eager gasp from Nise.

"The power's back!" Nise exclaimed happily. He quickly latched onto Amagi's arm, slightly jogging in place.

"C'mon, Yukiko, let's go home!" Nise insisted, tugging rapidly at Amagi's red sleeve. Feeling the urgency in Nise's tone and body language, Amagi nodded and grabbed her bag. The duo quickly left the classroom, along with those students who had froze at the sudden power outage. Hanamura and I decided it was best to just head straight home because of the storm.

 **IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
** ** _Evening..._**

It stopped raining by the time I had arrived home. Just like usual, Dojima wasn't home yet, so it was just Nanako and I. I sighed softly as I slipped off my shoes, putting my wet transparent umbrella on the wall. With a shake of my head, letting my damp hair sway, the wet strands sticking to my face; I put my bag next to the stairway and made my way over to Nanako.

"It stopped raining, but the thunder was loud!" Nanako began, as I took a seat across from Nanako. "Were you scared, Big Sis?" I blinked at her with a blank look, rewinding the power outage in my head.

"Well, it certainly surprised me. Nise-kun however was very scared because the power at my school went out for a bit" I explained with a small shake of a head.

"Really?" Nanako asked, her eyes widening. I nodded in reassurement, brushing my hair with my fingers.

"Poor Nise-kun" Nanako mumbled, a sympathetic look now on her face. I nodded in agreement.

"How about you, Nanako? Were you scared?" I asked. Nanako blushed a little and nodded, seeming a bit embarrassed by admitting that. It was very cute. A small pause of silence entered the house as I began to mess with my hair a bit rougher. It was way too damp for me to just dry off and call a day. With a small sigh, I stood up from my seat and looked over to Nanako, who was watching me.

"I need to take a bath before I get sick" I said, letting the strands of my hair fall out from between my fingers and slap my forehead like a magnet. Nanako nodded in comprehension, standing up as well.

"Well then, I'll get dinner ready" she said and began to walk towards the kitchen. I frowned slightly in guilt, wanting to make dinner tonight. With a sigh of defeat, I quickly gathered my pajamas and took my bath.

Once I had finished my bath, Nanako and I ate the store bought food while watching the news just like any other night. However, for some reason, Nanako wasn't eating her food as much and has been staring at me. She seems nervous about something, based on the way she keeps fidgeting.

"What is it, Nanako? Do you want to talk?" I asked, once a commercial came on. Nanako blinked in surprise at my question and looked down with a small smile. She looks relieved.

"Ummm…Well…Are you an only child?" Nanako asked hesitantly. I stopped eating at the question, blinking in surprise.

"Hm, well..." I began, debating what to say. "...You can say that." Nanako's face light up at my reply.

"So you're just like me!" Nanako laughed. She seemed so happy to know that I was an only child. But it was a lie. I didn't like to lie, especially to a child like Nanako, but it was the truth as of right now. My little sister... She is no longer here.

"Oh, but I have you now, so…" Nanako gasped, realizing something. I nodded, finding Nanako to be like a little sister. Like my old little sister... Before she left...

"You know, a while ago Daddy told me that our family won't get any bigger…" Nanako began. "But now I have a big sister!" Nanako beamed a smiled that covered her entire face. I felt the ends of my lips twitch as I nodded. Through that smile, I can feel our relationship grow deeper.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, May 8th_**

It was early in the morning, the bright sun shining in my room through the curtains. The sound of my pencil scratching onto paper echoed in the quiet room as I studied for the midterm. Suddenly, my iPhone began to ring. Surprised, I stood up from my seat and walked over to my dresser where I placed my phone and looked at the caller ID. It was Nise.

"Good Morning, Nise-kun" I answered, picking up the call.

" _Hey, mornin'! Did I woke you?_ " Nise asked. I shook my head, despite the fact that Nise couldn't see me.

"No, you didn't. I was just doing some early morning studying for midterms" I explained. Nise groaned at the word 'midterms'.

" _You are so hard core, Narukami-chan. Just one day and I'm wiped! Actually, that's why I'm callin'. I was wondering if you would mind hanging out with me for a while! I need to get my mind off of studying for a bit…_ " Nise explained. I sighed softly raising an eyebrow.

"You should be a bit more responsible with your studying time, Nise-kun" I scolded gently.

" _Yeah, yeah, I know... But are we going to hang out or nah?_ " he asked with a small sigh. It sounded like he really wanted to hang out with me. After a moment, I nodded.

"Alright, we'll hang out. Just tell me where to meet you" I said. Nise cheered with joy.

" _You're the best! Meet me over at Samegawa River around 1 in the afternoon, okay? I'd meet with ya now, but I have to do a quick errand._ " Nise instructed. I replied with a simple "okay", said goodbye and ended the call. Samegawa River, huh? I guess that means that we'll be doing some training again today. Where did I put those sweats?

Once I was dressed and ready to go, I headed downstairs I noticed that Nanako was sitting at the kitchen table, lost in thought. I blinked in surprise and walked over to her.

"Good Morning, Nanako. Is something wrong?" I asked, catching her attention. Nanako looked at me and nodded good morning before looking back over at the table.

"Um, well…" Nanako began, as she fidgeted in her chair. "I made flowers at school yesterday. They said today is 'Mother's Day.' My teacher told us that's a day when you give your mom flowers. I don't have a mom…so I don't know what to do with these flowers…" I fumed in comprehension now understanding the situation. I had forgotten that today was Mother's Day myself. I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my sweats and tilted my head a bit.

"You can still give them to her, Nanako" I said, causing Nanako's head to raise sharply and look at me with wide eyes.

"Huh?" Nanako exclaimed. After a moment, Nanako's sad and upset face began top shift into one of surprise and happiness. "Oh, you mean the family altar! Dad always puts food there. He said it gets to Mom in heaven. Do you think my flowers will get to her too?" I nodded, feeling the corners of my mouth twitch.

"Of course!" I encouraged. Nanako laughed happily, practically jumping out of her seat.

"I did a really good job on mine!" Nanako laughed, running towards her room. Quickly, she returned with several red origami flowers that looked we crafted. Nanako giggled happily as she showed them to me.

"My teacher said they were pretty too!" Nanako giggled as she looked back at her flowers with big, happy eyes. "I wonder if my mom will be happy to get them..." I sighed softly and patted her head with my right hand.

"She should be. Because you made them" I remarked. Nanako smiled brightly, a small blush creeping to her face.

"You should make a flower too, Big Sis! Then we can celebrate Mother's Day together!" Nanako giggled.

"Alright, that sounds like fun. But first, let's eat" I replied with a nod. Nanako's smile widened, her eyes sparkling.

"You're going to cook, Big Sis?!" Nanako asked happily. I nodded in reply. Nanako laughed happily and ran back to her bedroom. I sighed at how cute she was acting, and decided to cook some fish and rice for breakfast.

As I began to cook the fish, Nanako returned from her room with two stacks of red and green origami paper. Placing them on the table, Nanako rushed to my side and helped me cook in any way she could. Once the meal was finished, Nanako quickly ate her food and began to explain how to make the origami flowers. Thankfully, I was able to eat quickly as well and made the origami flowers with her. After a moment, I held up my finished flower, causing Nanako to smile as she held up the one she made as well.

"We did it!" Nanako giggled. "Let's go put it on the family altar!" I nodded as the two of us got up and walked over to the Altar. There was no picture of Nanako's mother, but it was still a lovely altar with flowers on each side. Because Nanako was to young to deal with fire, I had to light up the thin candles while she rang the small bell. Nanako clapped her hands twice and smiled happily as spoke out loud, introducing her mother to me as well as how she and Dojima were doing. After a moment of silence, Nanako and I placed the origami flowers down on the altar.

"Mommy would have loved you, Big Sis" Nanako began suddenly as we continue to stare at the alter, even after we placed the origami flowers down. "I remember how much fun Mommy had when she cooked with her friends for Daddy and me. She would have loved to make food with you."

"Is that right?" I hummed, staring at Nanako as she stared at the altar. The image of my little sister flashed into my mind, the same sad but happy look on her face just like Nanako's. Unconsciously, I grabbed Nanako and pulled her in for a hug, resting my chin on top of her head.

"How about I do your hair for you, Mimi?" I suggested. Nanako blinked in surprise, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

"Really?" she asked. I nodded in reply. Nanako smiled brightly as she got up from my lap and ran to the bathroom to grab a brush. Nanako quickly rushed back and gave me the brush, sitting down in front of me. I untied her small ponytails and began to brush her hair. Her hair is rather soft and easy to comb.

"What are you going to do, Big Sis?" Nanako asked.

"Well... how about I tie it into a high ponytail?" I suggested. Nanako giggled happily, approving of my option. Once I finished her hair, Nanako thanked my multiple times when someone knocked on the door.

It turned out that Nanako's friend, Shinjiro Asame, had plans with Nanako and came to pick her up. Nanako put on her shoes and the two left, happily discuss about Nanako's new look. I decided to do some more studying before I left to meet with Nise.

* * *

 ** _Afternoon..._**

I arrived a bit early to do some stretches at around 12:55. Nise arrived right on time at 1 pm sharp. We greeted each other with simple hello's as well as thanks for being able to hang out today.

"Allllright!" Nise exclaimed, clearly getting excited. "Today's the day!" I crossed my arms beneath my chest and raised an eyebrow.

"Let's try not to lose any shoes today, shall we?" I said playfully, the tone of my voice not showing it though. Nise laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sounds like a plan!" Nise laughed nervously.

"So what are we going to do today?" I asked. Nise opened his mouth to reply, when someone called out to us. We blinked in surprised and turned to see Nanako running towards me.

"Oh, hello Nanako" I greeted as she nearly tackled me into a hug. I patted her head gently, not wanting to mess up the ponytail I made for her.

"Hi there, Nanako-chan!" Nise cheered as he smiled at Nanako. Nanako let go of me as she greeted Nise.

"What are you doing?" she asked, curiously.

"Hm? Training, of course!" Nise laughed, as if her question was a foolish one.

"Training…" Nanako repeated, intrigued. "Who are you fighting with, Nise-kun?"

"Hmmm…" Nise tilted his head to the side. "Myself…I guess….? Ahahah, just kidding!" I could tell that he was lying, but I decided to say nothing. Nevertheless, Nanako seemed to be impressed by Nise.

"Wow, cool!" Nanako exclaimed. Nise blushed furiously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Y-You think so…?" Nise stuttered as he began to laugh nervously.

"Oh, a grasshopper!" Nanako suddenly pointed out, diverting her gaze to the ground next to Nise. Nise's eyes widened as he looked around frantically.

"Huh?! N-No way! Wh-Where?!" Nise stuttered, his once red face turning pale. I noticed something green land on him as he turned around, look for the grasshopper.

"It just landed on your back," Nanako replied as she looked at Nise's back. Nise suddenly screamed, and began to run around frantically, struggling to remove his jacket.

"Get it off!" Nise yelled. "Get it off me!" I panicked a little as I ran after him. Once I was close enough to him, I took a big leap and tackled him to the ground, the two of us groaning at the impact. I sat up, spotting the grasshopper and removed it from Nise's back. Thankfully, I didn't hurt the grasshopper.

"Ow... You're so strong, Narukami-chan..." Nise groaned. I got off of him and wiped my legs with my free hand.

"Sorry, but you wouldn't stay still" I said as Nise sat up, rubbing his lower back. Nanako caught up to us and grabbed my wrist that had the grasshopper in it. She took the grasshopper from my hand and rushed over to some bushes far from Nise and I to place the grasshopper there.

"You don't like grasshoppers?" Nanako asked when she returned. Nise shook his head sheepishly, his face turning red.

"I'm no good with anything with thin, jointed legs! Or anything creepy and squirmy!" Nise explained with a shuddered voice. He suddenly shivered, placing his hands on each side of his head. "Ack, now I can't get 'em outta my mind! I can't stand those things!"

"But they're cute" Nanako replied, catching Nise's attention.

"You're like Yukiko…" Nise muttered as sweat began to form on his face. Nise sighed as he stood up, looking at me with an embarrassed look.

"Yukiko's fine around bugs, unlike me… I just totally lose it… Kinda funny, huh?" Nise laughed sadly, probably feeling ashamed. I shrugged, showing him that I didn't really care about it.

"Everyone has small fears like that, right? Don't feel embarrassed about it" I reassured him. Nise laughed nervously, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, what are _you_ afraid of? You always have the same look on your face, so it's hard to tell sometimes if you _ever_ get scared" Nise asked. I hummed in thought, wondering what of my many fears was most equivalent to bugs.

After a moment, I said "Well, first off, I am scared of many things. For example, I'm actually rather scared of bike handles." Nise rose an eyebrow in confusion, blinking rapidly in surprise.

"Bike handles?" Nise repeated. "I've heard of people being scared of bikes before, but the _handles_? Why're you scared of that?" I rubbed the back of my neck and averted my eyes from his.

"It's a story for another day" I mumbled. It brought back such painful memories... I didn't want to remember them and tell them to Nise right now.

"You know, Nise-kun, a lot of kids in my class don't like bugs," Nanako reassured Nise, catching our attention. "It's not just you. Don't worry!"

"Nanako-chan…" Nise sighed, a gratitude look on his face as he smiled at Nanako. "Ooh, you don't know how happy that makes me. Thanks! C'mon, you wanna train too?"

"Okay!" Nanako nodded her head. I stiffened slightly at the offer, debating whether or not this was acceptable. In the end, I thought it was alright.

"Just don't lose any shoes and don't play too rough…" I sighed. Nise and Nanako nodded, cheering with a happy "Okay~!".

Nise and Nanako began training, while I watched over the two. After a while, I sent Nanako back home before it got dark. Thankfully, nobody lost any shoes. It was rather late, the mid-afternoon sun sitting gently on the river as Nise and I sat next to each other on a nearby bench.

"I'm gonna get over my fear of bugs," Nise suddenly declared as he turned to face me. "I don't wanna look like a sissy next to Nanako-chan! All I have to do is think of them as Shadows! Then I'll be able to grab a whole fistful!" I nodded, encouraging Nise as he grabbed a fistful of air to prove his point. A moment of silence passed when he suddenly shuddered.

"I-I just gave myself goose bumps…" Nise squealed softly. I snorted softly, finding Nise's behavior rather cute and amusing.

"...Getting used to bugs might take a while, but I won't lose to Shadows!" Nise declared as he looked forward again. I nodded, smacking him gently on the back.

"Now that's the spirit" I encouraged. Nise was definitely doing better than before… I can practically feel his burning passion.

"Okay!" Nise said suddenly as he jumped p from the bench, holding up his fists. "I'm so pumped up!"

"I'm glad you're doing well" I said as I remained in my seat.

"It's all thanks to you... and Yukiko!" Nise remarked as he turned to face me, showing me a smile as bright as the sun. "Well, it's getting late…so we should get going, too." I nodded, standing up from the bench.

"Make sure to do some studying before you go to sleep, Nise-kun" I reminded, causing Nise to groan.

"So hardcore about studying… I'm just glad Yukiko let me borrow her notes" Nise groaned with a small scoff.

* * *

 ** _Monday, May 9th_**

It was raining the next day and I was on my way to school, when I overheard students talking about midterms. I inwardly sighed at the thought of working all week long. Most students, including myself, dislike the whole idea of tests. And big tests like midterms are completely exhausting. And with the thought of having our scores posted for everyone to see is a bit stressful. With one short sigh, I mentally shrugged off the thoughts. There's not much I can do now, so complaining is out of the question. With a small nod, I began to jog towards the school, wanting to get to class earlier than usual.

3rd POV

The following week was hell for both Hitomi and her friends. Midterms lasted from Monday to Thursday. The following days were a blur for Hitomi as the first thing she did each day after coming home from school was study a bit and then sleep instantly afterwards. Nise and Yosuke had the most trouble throughout the week, barely understanding anything that was on the tests. In fact, Yosuke didn't understand anything to the point where he skipped the last day of the midterms. When midterms were finally over on Thursday, everyone was relieved.

"Finally done. Quite the load off" Hitomi muttered to herself as Nise and Yukiko reviewed the answers. At that moment, Yosuke entered the room with a big smile on his face.

"Whewwww! It's finally over! Free at last~!" Yosuke cheered happily, catching Hitomi's attention as she began to pack her bag.

"Where have you been?" Hitomi asked as he sat down at the empty desk next to her.

"Well, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to matter whether I showed up or not. Either way, I was going to get the same grade" Yosuke explained with a relaxed smile. Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed slightly, a bit ashamed that her note didn't help him.

"Hey, quiet down!" Nise snapped at Yosuke, causing him to jump a bit in surprise. Nise turned his attention back to Yukiko. "So, what did you write for number seven? The one about what 'that' referred to in that sentence."

"Um… I put 'her sorrowful expression,'" Yukiko replied. Nise's eyes widened as he groaned at Yukiko's words.

"Oh crap, then I got it wrong! I put, 'the rice cakes on top of the table.'" Nise whined as he ruffled through his hair. Yukiko blinked in surprise, become confused.

"Rice cakes…?" Yukiko repeated. "Wait, was that what the story was about…?"

"Alright, I'm giving up on composition" Nise sighed in defeat, looking over to Hitomi and Yosuke. "I'm gonna bet it all on geography! Ah, say Narukami-chan; what did you choose for the tallest mountain in the solar system?"

"Olympus Mons" Hitomi replied bluntly, not looking up at Nise as she placed the final item in her bag.

"Oh, seriously?!" Nise's eyes widened, sweat dripping from his face. "I chose the wrong one…" Yukiko turned around and smiled at Hitomi as she looked up while placing her bag on top of her desk.

"Oh, I put that one too," Yukiko remarked.

"Whoa, you too?!" Yosuke exclaimed, surprised. "Then it's probably the right answer…" Yosuke and Nise sighed, knowing full well that they were going to have horrible scores.

"Boy, I can't _wait_ for our grades to be posted out in the hall where everyone can see 'em. Geez…" Yosuke grumbled as he brushed his hair with his fingers.

"I think I'm going to go home and do some studying. There was this one question on the test I had a little trouble on" Hitomi announced as she stood up. Yosuke and Nise exclaimed at her announcement, the two looking at her like she was about to kill them.

"Are you crazy?!" the duo asked, leaning in close to Hitomi which caused her to blink in surprise and lean back a little.

"You _just_ finished testing for midterms! Take a break!" Nise ordered. Hitomi blinked a few times in confusion.

"But I..." Hitomi began, when Yosuke suddenly wrapped an arm gently around her neck and pulled her close to him. Surprised, Hitomi blinked rapidly as she placed both her hands on Yosuke's arm.

"No 'buts', Narukami-chan! You're going to take a break, whether you like it or not!" Yosuke declared. Nise's left eyebrow twitched a little as he stared at Yosuke's arm. Nise felt a little jealous and angry at the positioning between the fawn haired boy and the silver haired girl.

"Hey, did you hear? A TV station's filming here in town." a nearby male student said to his friend, catching the group's attention. The male student friend shrugged, showing no interest as he played on his iPhone.

"They're probably just doing more stuff about that hanging corpse case" the male student's friend guessed, not really caring. The male student shook his head, pushing his friend a little to grab his full attention.

"No, it's not that. You know the highway nearby? They're gonna cover those biker gangs that hang around there. A friend of mine goes to the biker meetings sometimes. I heard it from him" the male student explained. The male student's friend raised an eyebrow, surprised that his friend knew someone from a biker gang.

"Dude, what're you doing hanging out with a guy in a biker gang?" the male student's friend asked. Hitomi stared at them, recalling the gossip she heard a few days ago, before Golden Week had began.

"What's this about biker gangs?" Yukiko asked, perplexed as she turned to face the others. Nise looked over to Yukiko, looking a bit surprised when he suddenly recalled something.

"Oh… They raise a ruckus from time to time. I guess your place is too far away to hear 'em." Nise explained, rubbing the side of his head. Yosuke sighed in slight annoyance as he rested his chin on Hitomi's head, causing her to sigh in slight exhaustion.

"We live right by the road. The noise can drive you _insane_ " Yosuke groaned. Nise nodded in agreement, stuffing his hands into his green jacket.

"I hear some guys at this school are part of it, too," Nise said. Yosuke rested his other arm on top of Hitomi's shoulder, holding his head up with his hand. Hitomi was slowly becoming annoyed by Yosuke's action. But she was too tired from testing to say anything and sighed softly in defeat. Noticing this, Nise frowned in annoyance and removed Yosuke from Hitomi. Yosuke didn't notice as he was too focused thinking about something. Hitomi on the other hand was grateful and nodded thanks to Nise who returned it with a smile.

"Yeah, I know there are some rumors about a first-year student here who's a total hellriser. One of the guys working at Junes said the dude's been a legend ever since middle school. Although…was he in a biker gang…?" Yosuke hummed in thought as he looked up at the ceiling, trying to get his information right.

"D-Did you say he was a legend?" Yukiko asked as her eyes sparkled in amazement. Yosuke and Nise blinked nervously at Yukiko's interest. Nise swatted his right hand in front of his face, chuckling nervously.

"Uh, it's not what you think, Yukiko…" Nise chuckled nervously. Yukiko looked down in slight disappointment.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

Hitomi's POV

I sighed softly in exhaustion as I took a sip of the soda that Hanamura had gotten for me. Since he insisted so much, I decided to go with him to Junes for us to talk and relax during his breaks. He really didn't want me to study once I got home, which I could understand. I was exhausted myself from the testing, but that one question was still getting to me...

"Man, I'm exhausted..." I heard Hanamura sigh, causing me to look up. He held in his hand a few bags of chips and in the other, a cup of filled with some sort of drink. Hanamura sighed heavily as he sat down across from me. He tossed me a bag of one of the chips, a weary smile on his face.

"Here, I got you something to snack on to recharge your brain" Hanamura chuckled. I nodded a thank you as the two of us opened our bags of chips. He had gotten me a cheese flavored one which I was actually a big fan of.

"You know, hanging out with you here every so often isn't that bad. Even if I'm short on cash, I can get a little discount here" Hanamura said with a smile and a wink as he ate a few chips.

"Though, there's a small price in exchange for that..." Hanamura laughed nervously. I would have felt a bit sorry for Hanamura if it wasn't for the fact that he seemed not to mind about this.

"Oh, there you are, Hanamura!" a girl's voice called out, catching my attention.

"God dammit…" Hanamura groaned softly, causing me to look over to him. I watched Hanamura get out of his seat to talk with a couple of girls who walked up to him, stopping right next to me as if I wasn't there. The two girls looked around our age, if not a little older. One of the girls had brown hair up in a bun and wore a yellow blouse with blue shorts and brown boots. The other girl had short, black hair in a bob and wore a short pink dress with purple thigh-high stockings and white shoes. They seemed rather angry.

"Hello there, Senpai" Hanamura said with a fake smile, sounding a little bored. "I see you two are out of uniform…What's wrong today?"

"You better say something to that blockhead manager!" the gaudy-looking brunette yelled, causing me to flinch a bit in surprise. "I told him I can't come in on Saturdays or Sundays. But he's saying I have to be here since we're low on staff. And if I don't, he'll fire me!"

"Isn't there some kinda law against that?!" The snooty-looking girl with the bob asked with a scoff, as she crossed her arms over her chest. I couldn't move or talk, feeling as if I was frozen by the girl's rude attitude.

"Hey, that blockhead happens to be my father" Hanamura struggled to say, his fake smile turning now into a strained grin. "And didn't you guys say you could work weekends during your interviews?" The gaudy-looking brunette scowled at Hanamura.

"Well, yeah. They wouldn't hire us if we didn't!" she scoffed. I blinked in surprise as I stared at the two girls, quizzically. These two are so rude...

"Alright, I got it…" Hanamura sighed. "I'll try talking with him…But you don't want to get fired, right? It'd make it easier for me to strike a deal if you could show up every now and then on the weekends…" There was a moment of silence as the girls glanced at each other. The gaudy-looking brunette huffed in defeat and annoyance.

"We'll think about it…" she scoffed, flicking her bangs to the side.

"You'd better do it, 'kay?" the snooty-looking girl with the bob said aggressively. I flinched, a sudden urge to slap these two filling me. I bit my lip, glaring at the table to restrain myself. With that said, the two girls walked away, leaving Hanamura and I alone once again.

"Who were they?" I asked as Hanamura sat down with an annoyed sigh. I couldn't believe that those girls managed to get a job here at Junes. Everyone in the store is rather nice, so for them to get a job... They must stick out like a sore thumb.

"The brunette's name is Manami and the other girl is Kurumi. They attend our school and are a year older than us, so I can't really lash out at them…" Hanamura replied with a rather annoyed tone. "Sorry you had to see that." I shook my head, giving him a rather angry look.

"No, I'm sorry that you have to deal with them. If someone is going to apply for a job, it should be one that they enjoy and is willing to do" I said with a slight stern look. Hanauma blinked in surprise, his cheeks reddening a bit.

"Haha, you raise a good point!" Hanamura laughed, his cheeks growing redder.

"Oh, Yosuke-kun. Just the man I'm looking for" a voice called out, catching our attention. An older woman walked up to Hanamura and I, instantly noticing my presence unlike the two other girls.

"Oh my, hello! Are you two on a date?" the woman asked with a giggle. Hanamura gasped in surprise, his face exploding red as he stood up.

"A-A d-date?! N-No, we're just hanging out!" Hanamura stuttered, his face becoming redder with each word that fell out of his mouth. The older woman giggled, a wide smile forming on her face.

"Your face is so red! How cute~!" the woman teased, causing Hanamura to stutter strange sounds. I found Hanamura's behavior rather strange. The date that the woman was implying was when two people socialized with each other on a scheduled day, right? It wasn't entirely scheduled, but Hanamura and I are technically on a date. Ignoring Hanamura's sounds, she placed both of her hands on her hips.

"I hate to disturb your date, but hear me out!" the woman began. "Remember that claim I had the other day? Well, the head butcher said…" Hanamura sighed, cooling down his face as he stopped the woman by placing his right hand in front of her.

"Alright, alright; let's talk over there" Hanamura sighed, glancing over to me. "Sorry, Narukami-chan. Could you give me a minute?" I nodded, finding it alright. Hanamura gave me an embarrassed smile before leading the woman over to a table where I couldn't hear them. After more than ten minutes, Hanamura came back and sat down in his seat. He crossed his arms and let out an exhausted sigh.

"What a pain… I'm not the complaints department…!" Hanamura grumbled. He grabbed his cup and took a large gulp. He must have been parched from talking so much.

"Well, I think you're incredible for being able to do that" I complemented with a light tone. Hanamura blinked in surprise as he glanced up at me, his face reddening once again.

"Huh?" Hanamura said after he gulped, a sheepish smile creeping to his face. "It's nothing but trouble!"

"True, but I'm just amazed that you still managed to stay so calm." I began. "I mean, we just finished the last of our exams today. I can tell you're pretty exhausted." I was highly impressed with Hanamura.

"Is it that obvious?" Hanamura frowned. "Geez… Everyone's just trying to take advantage of me as the Junes kid. Maybe I wouldn't mind if I was free, but we have the murders to deal with. I don't have time for this." Hanamura looked down at his lap, his eyes narrowing.

"Can the police really handle the killer? Can the law really convict whoever's behind this…?" Hanamura muttered, his expression turning painful. He must be worried for Konishi's sake... My heart instantly reached out to Hanamura, wanting to comfort him. Hanamura suddenly shook his head and sighed.

"Once I started worrying about that stuff, I knew I couldn't bother with anything else. I have to do what I can…" Hanamura said as he looked determined at the table, his hands tightening up into fists.

"That's the spirit, Hanamura!" I cheered loud enough to surprise Hanamura, but not loud enough to draw unwanted attention.

"H-Hey, don't get carried away!" Hanamura stuttered, surprised. "You make me feel like I said something crazy…" I shook my head, giving him a thumbs up.

"Not 'crazy'. 'Smart'!" I said with a strange tone. Hanamura laughed, his right eyebrow raised.

"Haha… I never thought I'd actually be talking about serious stuff like this…" Hanamura began once he calmed down. "Before I moved here, it was all small talk… Stupid, trivial things. I thought that was fine. It's only with you guys that I talk seriously like this. I dunno why, but I feel like I don't have to lie… Especially with you. You've already seen the worst of me and all." I nodded slowly, recalling that day. My heart stung a little bit, feeling a bit guilty as I remembered how I punched Hanamura to get him to calm down.

"But well…" Hanamura began, catching my attention. He was smiling gently at me with soft eyes that I have never seen on him before, his face a light pink but not red. "Thinking about it now, if someone had to see that, I'm glad it was you. It's a bit late now, but… Thanks for going in with me that time." I blinked in surprise, feeling my face heat up. For some strange reason, my heart skipped a beat at Hanamura's smile. The corners of my mouth twitched violently, as if animals trying to break a door down. I bit my lips together and nodded.

"No problem" I replied softly, my mind too busy to figure out what was wrong with me.

I feel... strange. I feel nostalgic and yet... Sad. My heart was trying to express an emotion that I had once lost... and can never return.


	11. Assumptions

**_Friday, May 13th_ | _Evening..._**

I opened the door to the Dojima residence, placing my bag down onto the floor as I began to remove my shoes.

"Welcome home, Big Sis!" I heard Nanako call out. I looked up and saw Nanako coming towards me with a bright smile on her face.

"Hey Big Sis, guess what? Daddy's coming home early today with dinner!" Nanako giggled. Once I got my shoes off, I placed them properly to where they should go and picked up my bag.

"That's wonderful, Nanako" I said with a nod as I placed my bag in it's usual spot on the small table near me.

"Um, um... I went shopping today, so the fridge is filled with food!" Nanako said with excitement. I fummed in surprise, walking over to the fridge and opening to see its contents. Just as Nanako said, the fridge was filled with food.

"Huh... I can probably make meat stew for lunch tomorrow with all this" I muttered. nanako suddenly gasp, causing me to flinch in surprise.

"Meat stew?!" Nanako exclaimed. Stunned, I nodded hesitantly. Nanako's eyes began to sparkle as she tugged the end of my uniforms shirt.

"Can you make me meat stew for lunch tomorrow too?" Nanako asked excitedly.

"Um... Alright" I replied, a little overwhelmed by Nanako's joy. Nanako cheered happily and began to chant "Meat stew~!". With a soft sigh, I turned my attention and began to pull out ingredients.

* * *

After I had chopped up the meat and vegetables, poured the broth into the pot, the house began to smell with a delicious aroma. Nanako, who was so happy about the stew that she decided to watch me make it, sniffed the air.

"Wow, that smells so good!" Nanako sighed, a small drop of drool rolling down her mouth. I grabbed a napkin and wiped Nanako's mouth, causing her to blush in embarrassment. I turned my attention back to the stew which was almost complete. All it needs now is to simmer for a bit. I scanned the counter for a drop lid. Seeing that it wasn't there, I looked over to Nanako and squatted down.

"Nanako, can you get the drop lid for me?" I asked. Nanako smiled brightly and nodded, turning around and opening a drawer. While she looked for the drop lid, using the spatula, I stirred the stew to help mix the flavors. After a moment, I heard the door open.

"I'm home. Woah, what's that smell?" I heard Dojima say with a surprised tone. I tapped the spatial twice gently, before setting it down on a plate.

"Welcome back, Dojima" I greeted once I saw him enter the house, Junes bags in each hand.

"Welcome home, Daddy!" Nanako cheered as she ran over to Dojima with the drop lid in her hands, giving him a big hug. He laughed at Nanako's actions, petting her head gently as she let go. Nanako turned around and ran over to me, giving me the drop lid. I nodded a thank you, placing it on top of the pot.

"What are you doing?" Dojima asked, catching my attention. I wiped my hands with a hand towel, turning around to face Dojima.

"I'm making meat stew for lunch tomorrow" I explained, placing down the paper towel and unplugged the tea maker that Nanako and I had set up while I was cooking. I walked over to Dojima as he placed the Junes bags down on top of the kitchen table.

"There's plenty, so I can make you a box as well" I offered as I helped him take out the bento boxes from the plastic bag. Dojima smiled in gratitude, a small hint of playfulness somewhere in it.

"You're starting to sound like an old woman" Dojima teased. I felt my face heat up a bit at his tease, scoffing playfully causing him to laugh awkwardly. Dojima gave Nanako a bento box, which she cheered a "thank you" and rushed over to the table. Dojima gave me a bento box, grabbing to last one along with the tea maker; and the two of us followed after Nanako to the living room. Nanako turned the television on, the news being shown on the television.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Didn't you just finish your midterms yesterday?" Dojima asked as he and I sat down. I nodded in reply. Nanako cheered "thanks for the food!" and began to eat, Dojima and I fist clapping our hands before opening our meals.

"How do you think you did?" Dojima asked as I picked up my pair of wooden chopsticks, snapping them apart.

"Not too bad" I replied as I gathered up some rice. Dojima laughed with a raised eyebrow, telling me that he found my reply amusing but confusing.

"That answer's kinda vague" Dojima laughed as he poured himself a cup of tea. On the television, I could hear some rough talk, catching my attention.

" _ **Young men recklessly riding their motorcycles, disturbing the peace of a quiet rural town… Our special report took a turn for the violent when one of the apparent leaders attacked the camera crew**_ " the news reporter began.

" ** _The hell are you punks doing here?!_** " a voice shouted, causing me to flinch in surprise.

"That voice…" I heard Dojima mutter.

" _ **This ain't a show! Get bent!**_ " the same voice yelled on television as a young man with bleach-blonde hair appeared on the screen. I blinked in surprise, recalling the day I bumped into him before Golden Week. He was the one with the pink knitted bunny...

"Still up to the same old tricks…?" Dojima sighed, catching my attention.

"Do you know him, Daddy?" Nanako asked. Dojima made a face, staring at the television screen.

"Mmm, well, I know him through work. His name is Kanji Tatsumi…He's teenager who loves to fight. He's been crushing biker gangs in the area since middle school" Dojima explained.

"Huh…" Nanako and I said at the same time as we turned our attention back over to the television.

"Man, that blur sure is pointless," Dojima remarked with a short sigh. "It's completely obvious who it is." I looked over to Dojima and tilted my head a bit.

"But this is a news's special report. Doesn't that mean that this is his first time being shown on television?" I asked, a bit confused. Dojima turned his attention to me, his expression a bit stern but gentle at the same time.

"The guy's family runs a historic textile shop. I think what happened was, he crushed the local bikers all by himself because the noise kept his mother up at night" Dojima explained. I nodded, now understanding the situation. I looked down at my food, picking up a piece of meat with my chopsticks.

"Well, that's a nice gesture. But it seems a bit too violent" I said before I took a bite.

"Yeah. At this rate, his mother'll have to apologize again" Dojima sighed.

"Oh, the weather report's showing on the bottom," Nanako remarked, catching my attention. "It's going to rain tomorrow. I'll make sure to hang the laundry _inside_ the house." I took a mental note of the weather and the delinquent. Kanji Tatsumi...

* * *

 ** _Saturday, May 14th_**

I walked to school as usual this morning, a soft yawn escaping between my fingers. It was rather warm today, despite the cloudy clouds. According to the weather report, it will rain later on today. I looked down at my closed transparent umbrella that I held along with the bento. I wonder who's figure we'll see today, if anyone's-

"Oh, Narukami-chan!" I heard a familiar voice call out to me. I stopped and turned around seeing Amagi jog over to me, her red umbrella in hand.

"Good morning, Amagi-san" I greeted as she caught up to me. She smiled a little and the two of us began to walk again. We walked in silence for a bit, the air seeming a bit uncomfortable. Becoming a bit uneasy, I thought of a discussion topic.

"Um, how is your mother doing, Amagi-san?" I asked, not looking at her.

"Oh, um... She's doing well, thank you for asking. Although we have been having some shady customers at the inn lately" Amagi replied. I looked at her in surprise.

" _Shady_ customers?" I repeated. "Shady as in... Murderous types or sexual harassment types?" Amagi blinked nervously a she sweated a little, looking a bit nervous.

"The sexual harassment types, thankfully" Amagi replied with a small sigh of relief. "Oh, um! I-I'm not saying that it's a good thing, but it's better than having the killer at my place again." Amagi quickly became flustered, glancing around nervously. I nodded, understanding her reason. I would certainly feel better with sexual harassers than serial killers.

"Um, how's Nanako-chan doing?" Amagi asked, changing the subject. I nodded, looking ahead.

"She's doing well. She seems to really like watching me cook" I replied, holding up my umbrella and bento box. Amagi blinked in surprise as she smiled a little at the bento box.

"Wow, you even wrapped the container in a floral bag!" Amagi said with a small giggle. I felt my face heat up, glancing back and forth between the bag and Amagi.

"I - uh - is that bad?" I asked. Amagi smiled brightly and shook her head, a giggle escaping.

"No, not at all! I suppose that I never really thought of you to have something cute like that" Amagi giggled. I looked down at the bag, my face hot in embarrassment. I'm sort of glad now that I didn't pick the cat designed bag.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

The day passed by rather swiftly once school had started. I decided to share my lunch with Kou and Chou whom I had bumped into in the cafeteria while I grabbed some napkins. There was enough for the three of us and they highly enjoyed it, thankfully.

I was sitting at my desk while the others, excluding Nise who was watching the rain fall from the window, stood around me.

"Whoa, it started raining... I guess the weather report was right" Nise exclaimed, his eyes glued to the window as if it were a television. After a moment, he turned around and walked over to me, his face looking somewhat fearful. Hanamura crossed his arms and sighed after Nise stood next to him.

"That means that show's probably gonna be on tonight" Hanamura muttered. Amagi tied her hands behind her back and looked down at the ground.

"I hope we don't see anyone…" Amagi muttered with a frown. I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that'd be the best," Hanamura agreed. "But if we do, maybe we'll see some kinda clue that can point us toward the killer…" I nodded, finding Hanamura's words true and logical.

"Well everyone, don't forget to check your TV tonight. Got it?" Nise reminded with a serious look. With that said, everyone nodded and decided to go straight home.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

It was around 11:59 in the evening. I had done what I usually done while waiting for the midnight channel- study. Time went by a lot faster tonight. With a small sigh of exhaustion, I turned off my desk lamp and stretched as I stood up. With a sigh of relief, I turned my attention towards the window. I can hear that the rain still falling... It's been awhile since it has rained through the night like this.

A strange and familiar yellow glow dimly filled my room, causing me to look at the television. The screen was yellow and filled with static, just like all the other times. What would usually be a woman on the screen, this time was a man based on the body type. The image was however was heavily unfocused, making it was hard for me to tell who it is. Soon, the screen faded as the clock ticked to 12:01.

"I should call Hanamura…" I muttered to myself as I walked over to my dresser, where my iPhone was being charged. I unhooked the charger from my phone and called Hanamura. In two short rings, Hanamura picked up.

" _Oh, Narukami-chan!_ " Hanamura greeted, sounding a bit surprised. " _I was just about to call your cell! So, what do you think? That was a guy, wasn't it?_ " I nodded, the image of the figure still fresh in my mind.

"Yes, definitely" I replied.

" _I wish I could tell what he looked like…_ " Hanamura sighed. " _Let's get together and talk more about it tomorrow! I'll call Nise and let him know._ " I nodded, thinking the plan was good and said goodbye. Hanamura hung up after that. I reattached my iPhone with the charged, walked over to the futon, and plopped myself down.

A man, hm? This is going to throw Hanamura's theory out and mine in. With the information the others and I gather as well as what I overhear from Dojima, it makes more sense if the _parents_ should have been the main target. But so far, aside from Miss Yamano; only the _children_ have been kidnapped and thrown in. But... Now that I think about it, Saki had been the one whom encountered Miss Yamano's corpse. So, starting with Amagi, will the new victims be connected with Miss Yamano?

I let out a heavy sigh of frustration, covering my eyes with my left arm. We barely know anything about the figure who was shown on screen and don't know enough about Saki's connect with Miss Yamano! With another sigh, I decided to head to bed. I should hear what the others have to say first.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, May 15th_**

The next day, I arrived early over at the Junes food court where we have usual sat and awaited for everyone to arrive. Hanamura was the second to arrive, not having to work today, and shortly after came Nise along with Amagi. Everyone, including myself were wearing our casual clothes. This is starting to become a routine for us.

Hanamura and Nise was sitting next to me while I sat at the other end across from Amagi who was also between the boys. Once everyone had gathered at the spot I was original sitting at, Hanamura cleared his throat.

"Ahem, we will now hold a meeting on our investigation of the serial kidnapping-slash-murder case here in Inaba" Hanamura said in one breath. Nise looked strangely at Hanamura, resting his head with his right hand.

"Dude, take a breath!" Nise said. Hanamura gave Nise a look, causing the two to start making strange faces. Amagi gasped softly, catching my attention.

"Does that make this place our special headquarters?" Amagi asked, a strange sparkles in her eyes. We have certainly considered this place as one, huh? Rather strange since this place is popular.

"Yes! Exactly! Amagi is on top of things!" Hanamura laughed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Special headquarters…" Nise fumed, a small smile on his face. "Hmm, that does have a nice ring to it!" I nodded in agreement, finding this group to be highly humerus.

"Anyways," Hanamura began. "As for what was on last night…"

"I saw it too!" Nise piped up, looking serious. "I couldn't get a good view of the person's face, but it was a guy, wasn't it?" I nodded, closing my eyes to recall the image.

"Yes, that's what I saw. For me, I saw someone who looked like they were still in high school" I said as the image flashed briefly into my mind.

"So that's how I looked on TV…" Amagi mused. "Hm? Wait a moment. Didn't all the victims have one thing in common? That they were females with ties to the first incident?" Hanamura made a face, his arms untying as he placed his right elbow on the table- much similar to Nise- and rested his head with his hand.

"That's what we thought… But we still don't know who exactly we saw" Hanamura said as he closed his eyes.

"In my case, the image on the Midnight Channel changed after I was kidnapped, right?" Amagi asked. I nodded in reply.

"Yes, the screen got clear all of a sudden and the program looked like a low-budget TV show. The 'Amagi' that we had seen on the midnight channel wasn't really you, but rather your shadow expressing your inner feelings" I explained. Amagi nodded swiftly, her eyebrows furrowed as if she was concentrating on finishing a puzzle.

"But last night, we couldn't clearly see whoever it was," Amagi pointed out. "Could that mean… He isn't inside the TV yet?" I gasped softly, as I understood where Amagi was going.

"Then that means that he's still safe for now…!" I finished.

That would make sense...! When someone is kidnapped and thrown into the other world, they most likely lose consciousness due to the sudden fall- which would explain Amagi's blurred memories. While the _real_ victim is unconscious, the other world becomes the reality that they see. Then at midnight, the _fake_ victim expresses their hidden feelings as if on a television show. Things are slowly starting to make sense for me! I wouldn't have thought about it like that if it weren't for Amagi.

"If we can figure out who he is, can we prevent him from being taken?" Amagi asked, snapping me back to reality.

"Yeah…" Hanamura replied, his expression showing that he was slowly starting to catch on. "And if all goes well, we might catch the killer in the bargain. But to do that, we need to know who the latest Midnight Channel star is…I hate to say it, but I guess we'll have to wait another night and see what happens." Amagi and I nodded with strained looks on our faces. I wish we could save them now, but without knowing what the victim truly looks like, we can't.

"A-he-hem…" Nise suddenly cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "Well, that means if my deductions are correct… Though the image was hard to make out, and we can't say for sure who it was, it was definitely a young male. But if that's the case, it goes entirely against our prior assumptions… Since we cannot identify the person at this time, we have no choice but to wait and see what happens!" A strange silence surrounded us as Nise smiled triumphantly at the sky, as if his nose was looking down at us.

"Dude, that's _exactly_ what we just said!" Hanamura shouted, a look of frustration on his face. Nise's face exploded red as he looked taken back at Hanamura's shout.

"Sh-Shut up!" Nise shouted with a pout. Amagi started to chuckle, catching the boy's attention, when she suddenly bursted into a fit of laughter.

"You're so funny, Nise! Ahahaha, oh no! M-My funny bone…!" Amagi laughed. Nise groaned, his head lowering to a point where only I could see his expression.

"Not again…" Nise muttered, his ears now turning red.

"S-Sorry, heeheehee!" Amagi laughed, trying to stop; but couldn't. Hanamura sweated a bit at Amagi's true nature.

"This is how Amagi really is, huh…Who'd thought?" Hanamura muttered. I felt a warm feeling wash over me as I watched Amagi laugh. The corners of my mouth twitched.

"I find it... Endearing," I said, tilting my head in amusement to Amagi's laughter.

"B-By the way... About that guy we saw?" Nise stuttered, his face less red than earlier catching our attention. "I get the feeling I've seen him before… Pretty recently, too…"

"Oh, you too?" Hanamura asked, a bit surprised. "Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing since last night…" I nodded, catching their attention as Amagi slowly began to stop laughing.

"That's what's been bothering me…" I remarked. "I also thought the same thing…"

"Well, let's check the TV again tonight and think about it more tomorrow," Hanamura suggested. Everyone nodded with serious expressions, excluding Amagi was was smiling. Soon Amagi started to laugh again. Nise scowled, his face turning slightly red.

"Grr, when are you gonna stop that, you crazy hyena?!" Nise shouted softly. Unfortunately, his soft shout caused Amagi to laugh even harder.

"Ahahaha! That's a good one, Nise!" Amagi laughed hysterically. I blinked nervously at the sight, glancing over to Hanamura and making eye contact. Just to stay on the safe side, I decided to go straight home and do some studying.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

I stared blankly at my homework that has been finished. The math equation was a lot harder than I thought, even with my notes. Maybe I should ask Amagi to teach me how she does it. I sighed softly and looked at the clock.

"Just one more minute…" I muttered as I stood up, walking over to the television. The minute soon passed and almost instantly, the television flickered on with a yellow glow and static. Once again, a figure appeared, a bit clearer this time. Staring intently at the screen, I finally realized who it was. It was that boy, the one on the news special; Kanji Tatsumi! Suddenly, my iPhone rang. I rushed over to my dresser, unhooked the charger and answered the phone.

"Hello?" I asked as the television died back down.

" _Did you see that?_ " Hanamura asked on his side of the line. I sighed softly, resting my elbows on my dresser.

"Yes, I did. I think it's Kanji Tatsumi" I said with a confident tone.

" _Yeah, I think so too,_ " Hanamura said, his tone just as serious as mine. "I _knew I saw him somewhere! That crazy S.O.B was just on that special news report! He's one scary dude. He was even yelling at the camera to 'Get bent!'_ " I opened my mouth to explain to Hanamura that he he wasn't really scary, since he was just doing something about the biker gang that was keeping his mother up at night.

" _Alright, so we finally have a lead_ " Hanamura sighed, slightly relieved. " _Let's all get together tomorrow, okay?_ "

"Alright, sounds like a plan" I agreed. We said our goodbye and hung up. I reattached my iPhone with the charger and walked over to my futon. Kanji Tatsumi... his family owns a textile shop. Maybe Miss Yamano paid a visit? That would explain why Tatsumi is being targeted... I shook my head, shaking the assumptions out of my head. For now, I should wait and hear what the other have to say. I can't figure this out on my own. Amagi proved that to me today.

* * *

 ** _Monday, May 16th_ | _After school..._**

School went by as usual for today. Nothing much really happened, even the lessons weren't all that important. I couldn't ask Amagi about helping me with the math equation because of how intense everyone was. And it also seemed that my theory from last night want's to keep on attacking me.

When school was finally over, Amagi and Hanamura stood in front of Nise and my desk; serious looks on their faces.

"The one who was on last night…" Nise began. "It's THAT guy, right…?" Hanamura crossed his arms over his chest.

"Kanji Tatsumi, huh?" Hanamura began. "He definitely didn't look like the social type."

"Now there's an understatement," Nise remarked. "He's pretty scary. Did you see the news special the other day?" I frowned slightly at Nise's words, finding them a bit rude. I had encountered Tatsumi before, and at first he seemed rather scary, but I get this feeling that... he's just misunderstood. If he really _was_ a scary guy, he wouldn't have thanked me for returning his pink bunny right? He wouldn't even _have_ that with him.

"Yeah, I saw it," Hanamura replied. The guys looked over at me, which I nodded in reply.

"You mean the special on biker gangs?" Amagi questioned, catching our attention and earning a nod in response. "I watched it too. He wasn't like that when he was younger, though…" I blinked in surprise as Nise and Hanamura exclaimed in surprise, startling Amagi.

"You know him, Amagi?!" Nise asked, surprised to hear about this. Amagi nodded as she regained her composure.

"Uh-huh, but we haven't talked to each other in a long time," Amagi explained. "His family runs a textile shop, and we've been a customer of theirs for many years. So, I speak with Kanji-kun's mother from time to time."

"Oh, why don't we go there now? We might be able to talk to him in person." Amagi suggested. Nise gulped loudly, causing me to look at him. Nise, being the slight coward that he was, had a pale face of fear at Amagi's suggestion. He must be really scared. I looked back over to Amagi.

"That doesn't sound half bad," I remarked. "However, we don't want to get in too much trouble with him or bother his parent's business. So, at the very least, let's ask if anything strange has come up lately."

"Oh?" Hanamura began, catching my attention. "Don't tell me that you're _scared_ , Narukami-chan!" I felt my face heat up at Hanamura's words, looking down at my lap.

"W-Well, I mean..." I stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I might be a _little_ nervous to meet with him in person, but I'm sure he won't become violent if we talk to him in front of his family's shop." I suddenly heard Hanamura began to laugh as a hand began to pat me on the head while another patted me on the back. I looked up and saw that Hanamura was laughing with a red face, Amagi blushing slightly with a calming smile as she patted my head, and Nise patting my back with a determined and red face.

"D-Don't worry, Narukami-chan! You don't have to be scared of anything, okay?!" Nise encouraged.

"Hahaha, Narukami-chan's nervous! I swear to God, that is the cutest thing I have _ever_ seen in a long time!" Hanamura laughed, his face becoming even more red.

"Don't worry, Narukami-chan. If things get rough, we can count on the guys to protect us!" Amagi said with a giggle. Hanamura instantly stopped laughing at Amagi's sentence, Nise exclaiming as he looked at Amagi. I blinked nervously at what was going on, my face becoming as hot as lava. I don't know who it was who caused me to blush this hard, but it has to be one of these three.

* * *

Amagi had lead the way to the textile shop, the guys walking beside her while I walked in the back. I didn't know where the shop was and everyone must have really taken my nervous words seriously. Perhaps they forgot, but they were all taller than me and I couldn't see where I was going. Someone, most likely Amagi, opened the doors to the textile shop. I stopped outside the shop, looking up at the sign. The sign read, "Tatsumi Textiles". The sign is rather decorative and slightly familiar. I might have seen it before during my walks around town.

"Hello, excuse me" I heard Amagi said. I looked forward and saw that everyone was inside the shop, along with one other person. I tilted my head to the side in surprise, walking inside.

"Ah, Yuki-chan. It's so nice to see you" I heard an elder woman's voice greet. That must be Tatsumi's mother.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me, Ma'am" a voice, whom I haven't heard before said. It sounded rather muscular... For a girl. I looked over, beyond Hanamura who was mostly blocking my way from the person who just spoke and blinked in surprise at who I saw. There stood a slender, androgynous-looking young man with short blue hair. He had slightly tanned skin and was rather short even with the platform shoes he wore as well as the dark blue cap on his head. He seems to be dressed rather formally, as he wore a dark blue cardigan coat and plaid blue pants. His back was turned towards me, so I couldn't see their face.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help more" the elder woman's voice from earlier apologized.

"It's all right; you've given me plenty to think about, thank you" the muscular girl's voice said in reply.

Having said that, the figure turned around and made their way to the door. I saw that the person was actually wearing a dark blue double-breasted cardigan coat with a white shirt underneath, and had a pair of blue eyes. Their face and structure is actually rather feminine, making me think that the person was a girl. But based on the way they dressed and the lack of chest, it seems to me that they are trying to appear male. It would also explain the voice. When the girl made her way to the door, she glanced over to me, seeming a bit surprised by my appearance. Our eyes locked and I continued to stare at her until she broke her eyes away by glancing forward again. What a strange girl.

"What's up with him…?" Hanamura asked moments after the girl exited the building, closing the door behind her. "Weirdo." I looked forward to the group, noticing that Nise and Hanamura was staring after her, confused looks plastered on their faces.

"I 'unno," was Nise's response. "Never seen him before."

"Yuki-chan, you're as lovely as always," the elderly woman's voice complimented, causing Hanamura and Nise to turn around.

"You're too nice" Amagi replied. With a soft sigh, I walked around them and stood next to Amagi. In front of Amagi, there was an elder kind looking woman, her gray hair neatly kept in a low bun, and has a pair of warm dark brown eyes. She is wearing a plain, traditional green kimono with a purple obi sash, making her look rather traditional.

"Your features are starting to remind me of your mother when she was young. How can I help you today? Are you out shopping with your friends?" the woman asked, flashing us a gentle business smile.

"Oh, um, well…actually…" Amagi began, struggling to find the right words.

As Amagi, along with Nise and Hanamura, tried to explain what we were doing here, I stepped to the side and began to look around the room. The shop was very traditional and well organized, some cloth being put on display while the other clothes were neatly folded and stacked on shelves. Looking around, my eyes came across a familiar red scarf on a table near the elder woman.

"This scarf…" I muttered, staring intensely at it. It seemed so familiar...

"Something wrong, Narukami-chan?" I heard Nise ask.

"This scarf... I've seen it somewhere before" I replied, without looking over at the others.

"Hm?" I heard Hanamura say as footsteps approached me. "Oh, you're right. Where was that…?" I continued to stare at the scarf, focusing all my concentration at it. I gasped softly in surprise as I finally remembered.

"It was there, in that room! Back in the television" I whispered, looking over my shoulder to where Hanamura was standing. Hanamura blinked in surprise, seeming to also remember.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Hanamura whispered. "That room with those faceless posters…!" I nodded and looked back at the scarf.

"Then… could it be that announcer's…?" I muttered.

"Are you acquaintances of Miss Yamano?" I heard the elder woman ask. I flinched and looked over to where the woman was sitting. I must have muttered that last bit a little too loudly.

"Uh, well, kinda…" Hanamura began as the two of us walked over to her. "Um… Did Miss Yamano happen to have a scarf like this?"

"Yes, it was a special order she placed," the elder woman replied, a sad but gentle look on her face. "She actually ordered a pair, but in the end, she said she only wanted the women's scarf. It left us with no choice but to sell this one separately." Everyone, including myself gasped at the information, exchanging glances with one another.

"Oh man…" Nise began, his eyes wide. "There IS a connection to the first case…!" I nodded in agreement, glancing back over to the elder woman. This woman, Tatsumi's mom, is the owner of this shop most likely. Because of his appearance, Tatsumi most likely doesn't work here very often but rather works behind the scenes. If that's the case... This woman here should be the next target, not her son! This leads me back to that question I had earlier... "Why is the culprit only targeting the children?" Wouldn't it be easier to deal with the parents, whom had the real connect with Miss Yamano, themselves?

"What are we gonna do…?" Nise asked Hanamura, snapping me back to reality.

"H-How should I know?" Hanamura replied nervously, a bit thrown off at the fact that Nise was asking him. At that moment, a doorbell that sounds like it came from the back rang, catching everyone's attention.

"Hello! Delivery here for the Tatsumi's" a man's voice called from the back.

"Oh, I'll be right there," the elder woman replied. She looked back at us and smiled a gentle apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me" the elder woman said. Nise shook his hands in front of him, a rather nervous look on his face.

"Oh, it's okay!" Nise remarked. "We should get going." Amagi and I bowed at the same time, showing our respects, as Amagi flashed the elder woman a warm smile.

"I'll come again, Ma'am" Amagi said with a gentle tone.

"Is that so?" the elder woman asked, seeming a bit happy to hear that. "Well, then please say hello to your mother for me." Amagi nodded obediently in reply. With that said, the elder woman stood up and made her way out of the room. Once she had gone, Hanamura sighed, catching our attention.

"It really is connected to the first case after all…" Hanamura said as he eyed the scarf. "But it's just a scarf. Would the killer target someone just because of that…? Dammit, what's going on…?" Nise and Hanamura groaned, obviously becoming confused by our newly discovered information.

"Alright come on, let's talk outside" I instructed, not wanting the elder woman to overhear our conversation. The others nodded in agreement and followed me out the door. Once we exited the shop, we saw Tatsumi and that slender girl from earlier talking with each other.

"Hm? It's Kanji-kun!" Amagi pointed out, causing the guys to freeze up.

"Wha- Quick, hide!" Hanamura whispered, grabbing my wrist as he, and the others ran towards a nearby red mailbox. Being rather short, I didn't have to do much to hide. The others however stuck out, and with the lack of room; Hanamura and Nise weren't even hiding behind the mailbox.

"You're not fooling anyone you know..." Nise growled, giving Hanamura a rather mean look.

"Why exactly are we hiding? We could just pretend that we're talking to each other, rather than hide" I suggested.

"I wonder what they're talking about…" Amagi mused, her eyes glowing a bit.

"Shhh!" Hanamura hissed. "We can't hear anything if you guys keep talking!" I sighed softly, poking my head out from behind the mailbox.

"T-Tomorrow's fine with me…" Tatsumi said, somewhat nervously. "Huh? S-School? 'Course I'm going to school…"

"Then I'll meet you at the gates after school tomorrow," the slender girl told Tatsumi. With said that, the slender girl turned and walked away from Tatsumi. I looked back and forth between the two, some questions popping in and out of my mind. Tatsumi watched the slender girl walk away, a strange look on his face.

"H-He finds me intriguing?…? He's a guy…and I'm a guy…But…he finds me intriguing…?" Tatsumi said out loud to himself. He suddenly glanced over to our direction, his eyes turning sharp and rather threatening.

"Huh? What the hell are you pricks looking at?!" Tatsumi shouted as he raised a fist in the air. Nise and Hanamura screamed in fear, causing me to flinch. Hanamura suddenly grabbed my wrist again and screamed along with Nise, draggin me away with him and the others.

We ran as fast as we could, Hanamura and Nise taking Amagi and I up a large amount of stairs and into a shrine. We all stopped next to the shrine, panting as Hanamura let go of my wrist.

"That... scared the hell... out of me!" Nise panted, his words barely forming. "He's even... worse in person... than he is on TV…!"

"I couldn't hear everything that they were talking about though..." I panted softly, slowly fanning my face with my hand.

"Aw man, I'm outta shape..." Nise commented as he fell down to the ground, his head hanging limp. I walked over to him and patted his back, helping him catch his breath.

"The one on TV last night was definitely Kanji-kun," Amagi remarked, catching my attention.

"Yeah…" Hanamura nodded, regulating his breath. "And I just realized something. Remember the common points we were talking about? His mom fits the pattern. She's a woman, and she knew Yamano-san. But it was her son who appeared on TV…So what does that mean?" I stood up, catching the two's attention as I looked at them with a serious look.

"I have been wondering about that for a while now as well. Amagi-san's mother and Tatsumi-san's mother would seem like better targets since they have more of a connection with Miss Yamano" I began. "But for some reason, he's only targeting the children."

"So you're saying... Kanji's a target?" Hanamura asked, trying to put together my words. I nodded in reply.

"You know what, you're right" Amagi began, catching our attention. "Just as Narukami-chan said, my mother fit the victim profile more than I did. She was the one who dealt directly with Miss Yamano… but _I_ was the one who was targeted."

"Does that mean it'll be the kid again, instead of the mother?" Hanamura wondered, crossing his arms over his chest. "But if that's true, then the killer's motive makes no sense at all. It'd have nothing to do with silencing witnesses or revenge or anything."

"Maybe the killer's some sort of pedophile" Nise growled as he slowly stood up, his face fierce with anger. I thought for a moment as Amagi tied to calm Nise down, who was starting to look like a murder.

"...Maybe the first case had nothing to do with grudges or revenge" I thought out loud.

"Or is there some kinda secret in the textile shop itself…?" Hanamura mused, exchanging glances with me. A moment of silence filled the air as we all thought deeply in confusion.

"Argh! I'm totally lost!" Nise shouted, rustling his hair.

"But we can't ignore this," Amagi said firmly.

"Hey, wasn't Kanji making plans with that weird kid a moment ago?" Hanamura began. "Something about meeting up at school." Hanamura crossed his arms over his chest, a nervous but suspicious look on his face.

"I heard he's been skipping school ever since the new year started... Doesn't that seem a little suspicious?" Hanamura asked. I nodded slowly in agreement.

"Quite" I replied bluntly.

"Alright, let's try staking out Kanji and his family's store. We definitely don't want the killer getting ahead of us." Hanamura instructed. I nodded, finding this plan a bit foolish but at the same time reasonable. Hanamura suddenly pulled out his iPhone and smiled at Amagi.

"That being said… Yukiko, can I have your cell number?" Hanamura asked with a bright smile and a wink. Amagi blinked, her eyes looking a bit dazed as Nise grabbed Hanamura's collar, looking very _very_ angry.

"Hey, was this your plan all along, you pervert?" Nise growled. I took a step to the side, standing next to Amagi to avoid the tense atmosphere Nise was creating. Hanamura whimpered in fear, laughing nervously as he held his hands up in a defensive way.

"N-No way, of course not! I got everybody's phone number except for hers! And the Y section of my address book needs some filling out" Hanamura laughed nervously. Nise scoffed, not seeming to trust Hanamura's words. Nise let go of Hanamura's collar, eyeing Hanamura suspiciously.

"While we're on the subject, could you stop calling me at night just to tell me bad pickup lines?" Nise huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Unlike you, I can come up with something original that doesn't have a sexual innuendo in it." I blinked in surprise at the information Nise had just carelessly given out.

"That reminds me, I need to buy tofu on my way home…" Amagi suddenly said aloud, catching my attention. It seems that she wasn't paying attention to the conversation.

"Whoa… She didn't hear a word I said…" Hanamura said with a disappointed tone while Nise smiled in a proud way.

"Okay then, the stakeout is set for tomorrow!" Nise declared, giving a thumbs up to Amagi and I as he punched Hanamura in the process. I sweated a little as I watched Hanamura groan in pain while holding his head. Nise is really violent for such a cowardly person...

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, May 17th_ | _After school..._**

Immediately after school, everyone gathered up at the school gates; hiding at a location that is mostly invisible to most students since they don't look over to the side of the gates. Nise and Hanamura seem to be very excited.

"Has the target arrived at school!?" Nise asked softly. Hanamura nodded, a look of determination in his eyes.

"Rodger! Visual ID confirmed!" Hanamura replied. "Target arrived in-zone near the end of his mess break, with mother-issued rations in hand. Current status: In the bathroom, fixing his hair." I couldn't help but feel something tickle my throat as I watched these two excitedly talk to one another. It was so amusing to watch that I think the tickle in my throat was a ball of laughter that wanted to come out.

"The target was acting nervous. I left my position before he had a chance to pick on me" Hanamura continued. Amagi turned to me with a questioning look.

"I wonder what kind of plans they made... It didn't seem like he knew that boy very well..." Amagi wondered. I shrugged, not knowing the answer myself. I've decided to keep my mouth shut about that slender girl's true gender. It might be a personal problem with them, and once wanting to be a man myself, I can certainly understand why she is acting the way she is.

"Oh, he's here!" Nise suddenly announced softly, catching Amagi and my attention. Right on cue, Tatsumi walked right by us and walked halfway down to the bottom of the hill where the slender girl approached him at.

"I didn't keep you waiting, I hope?" The slender girl asked as she looked up at Tatsumi. Tatsumi quickly shook his head.

"No, I-I just got here too…" he stuttered. He seems to be really nervous. The two didn't say much after that and started walking away together. Once they were out of earshot, Hanamura and Nise turned around to face Amagi and I, their faces pale and slightly sick looking.

"Wh-What in the world was that…?" Hanamura stuttered, his face looking slightly sick.

"I'm a little scared to find out..." Nise muttered, his face pale. I was going to ask how the two of them was feeling when Nise suddenly shook his head.

"Anyways, we gotta hurry after them, or we'll lose them!" Nise remarked. Hanamura's sick expression went away and was replaced with a determined one.

"Okay, let's split up into two groups," Hanamura suggested. "One team will follow Kanji Tatsumi, and the other will stake out the shop."

"Roger that!" Nise exclaimed. "How should we split the teams?" Hanamura turned to Amagi and I, catching our attention.

"Narukami-chan, Yukiko, you two should go and stake out the shop" Hanamura ordered. I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's demand, finding it a bit strange. Nise raised an eyebrow and smacked the back of Hanamura's head.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What if the killer gets to the textile shop and sees the girls there? He could attack them as well! There's no way that Narukami-chan and Yukiko will be safe like that!" Nise argued. Hanamura rubbed the back of his head as he glared lightly at Nise.

"No, actually, if you think about it; Narukami-chan and Yukiko will be a lot safer over at the textile shop since there's a lower chance of the killer going there. And even if he does, once he knows that Kanji's not home, he'll probably get outta there as soon as he can to avoid suspicion!" Hanamura explained. Nise's face went pale after a moment, what Hanamura said making sense.

"Oh well... In that case, can I stake out the textile shop too?" Nise laughed nervously. Hanamura growled and grabbed Nise's ear, dragging him away as Nise whined and complained. I stared after them with nervous sweat rolling down my face.

"I wonder if those two will be alright…" Amagi said nervously. I looked at her and blinked nervously.

"I hope they don't get into too much trouble" I sighed. Amagi giggled nervously and nodded in agreement. Nervously, Amagi tied her hands behind her and smiled shyly at me.

"W-Well then... We're off to the textile shop, so... Shall we?" Amagi said nervously. I blinked in confusion at Amagi's nervousness, nodding in agreement. With that, the two of us were off to the textile shop.

* * *

I walked in front of the stairs leading up to the shrine for Amagi, who was off buying drinks for us at her insistence. Ever since Hanamura and Nise left the two of us alone, Amagi seems to be a bit nervous. I looked away from the textile shop as I heard the sounds of someone running towards me.

"Sorry about the wait…" Amagi said as she handed me a bottle. "This one's for you." I nodded a thank you as I opened up the bottle. It seems to be some sort of orange soda.

"Everything seems fine at the shop so far" I said as Amagi opened up her own drink.

"That's good..." was all Amagi could say, still looking nervous. A strange and rather awkward silence filled the air between us as we drank our drinks.

"Um... So, Narukami-chan" Amagi began. "U-Um... Nise or Yosuke? Which one's your type?" I nearly choked on my drink at the sudden question, coughing violently after I drank the soda in my mouth. Amagi helped me recover by patting my back.

Once I stopped coughing, I asked "W-Where did that come from all of a sudden?" Amagi's face grew red as she smiled nervously.

"I-I guess I'm a little nervous. I've never chatted with a girl my own age like this before…" Amagi admitted. I blinked in surprise, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Really? But aren't you admired by girls and boys alike?" I asked. Amagi nodded shyly, probably feeling embarrassed about it.

"That's true, but you see I'm usually around Nise when other people talk to me" Amagi began, fiddling with her drink. "I'm not all that social when I don't have him around. He makes me feel really comfortable and I feel like I don't have to try and please the other person. When Nise isn't around, I tend to become rather nervous around girl and with boys; I barely say anything." Amagi smiled gently, as if remembering something.

"Nise, of course, has no problem getting along with girls because of his personality…But I think he's had more fun hanging out with you and Yosuke lately…" Amagi began. She blushed a little as she looked up at me and smiled. "The same is true for me." I blinked in surprise, unexpecting Amagi to admit that.

Suddenly, a car from the top of the hill zoomed past us, causing Amagi to jump in surprise. I pulled her away from the road and the two of us hid behind some tall bushes near the shrine. Once we were certain that the car wasn't coming back, Amagi and I walked back to where we were originally standing, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

"That scared me…" Yukiko sighed, shakily. "Do you think the culprit will come…?" I took a small sip from my drink, before looking at Amagi with a gentle look.

"Don't worry Amagi-san. Even if he does come, I'll be sure to protect you" I replied with confidence. Amagi blinked rapidly, surprised at my words.

"Huh, really?" Amagi asked, sounding as if she didn't believe my claim. I nodded, looking down at the ground as I felt myself blush.

"Yes, because... I want to protect my f-friends. After all, I've been having a lot of fun hanging out with you and the others..." I muttered under my breath, a little embarrassed and slightly hoping for Amagi to not hear me. Suddenly, Amagi embraced me tightly, causing my face to grow redder.

"You're so cute, Hitomi-chan!" Amagi giggled, causing my face to explode for numerous reasons. First off, Amagi just called me by my first name. Second off, Amagi was hugging me.

"T-Thanks…?" I replied shyly, looking down at the ground. Amagi let go of me and smiled brightly, her nervousness disappearing.

"I'm counting on you, Hitomi-chan… Ah, I can call you that, right?" Amagi asked. I blinked in surprise. I looked down and nodded slowly.

"S-Sure... May I call you Yukiko-chan?" I asked. I heard Amagi giggle at my response, in which I can image she was smiling happily.

"You know, it would be scary if the culprit _did_ show up… But if they do, I'll do what I can to help you catch them" Amagi began, her voice determined. I looked up and saw that she meant business. "You all saved my life… I don't want to be the only one doing nothing. I mean…I'm sure there's something I can do…" I nodded, giving Yukiko a thumbs up.

"I'll be counting on you, Yukiko-chan" I encouraged, causing Yukiko to smile. I could sense Yukiko's gratitude and affection. I blinked in surprise as I recalled something. I don't have Yukiko's phone number yet. I placed my bottled drink down on the ground and pulled out my iPhone from my bag.

"Yukiko-chan, may I have your number?" I asked straight out. Yukiko blinked in surprise before a bright smile and a soft pink fell on her face.

"Okay! I can't always answer, since I help out around the inn. But feel free to call anytime!" Yukiko explained. I nodded in understanding as she pulled out her iPhone. Once she was ready, we used the 'Number exchange' interaction and in five seconds flat, received each other's phone numbers. I couldn't help but stare shyly at Yukiko's contact now in my cell. It has been a really, _really_ , long tie since I have put in a girl's phone number into my iPhone. A warm feeling washed over me, as I put my iPhone back into my bag to resume the stakeout.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, with Nise and Yosuke at the Samegawa Flood Plains..._**

3rd POV

Nise and Yosuke followed after Kanji and the slender young man* (AN: The group, besides from Hitomi, thinks that the slender girl is a slender young man), both determined and slightly nervous. They quickly hid behind a tree, with Yosuke standing up and Nise kneeling down on the ground.

"Man, this is weird…" Nise muttered as he watched Kanji talk to the slender young man.

"Yeah, we definitely stand out…" Yosuke said as he made a face. Nise elbowed Yosuke's knee, causing Yosuke to yelp softly in pain.

"No, I mean THEM!" Nise snapped. "I get this weird feeling about them…" Yosuke looked at Nise with a strange look, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Weird?" Yosuke repeated. "What about them's weird?"

"Um… I don't know how to put it…" Nise began, blinking in thought. "Maybe it's just my imagination…" Yosuke's stared at Nise in confusion, wondering what he could be talking about. The duo continued to follow Kanji and the slender young man, when Nise suddenly sighed.

"Man, all this following is givin' me the munchies..." Nise sighed, rubbing his stomach. Yosuke's eyebrows twitched as he looked at Nise with an annoyed look. This must have been the third time Nise complained about being hungry.

"Like I care!" Yosuke snapped. "If you're so hungry then go and order delivery or somethin'!" Nise blinked in surprise, looking up at Yosuke.

"Delivery? But we're standing on a corner" Nise pointed out. Yosuke placed both hands on his hips, giving Nise a bored look.

"Didn't you know? Aiya's place say that they will deliver anywhere. It doesn't matter where you are, ya just gotta call 'em up and ask" Yosuke explained. Nise's face light up as he removed his backpack.

"For real?!" Nise exclaimed happily. "Then in that case, I'm orderin'' two nikudon~!" Nise pulled out his iPhone and began to dial. Yosuke raised an eyebrow, sweat beginning to form.

"Hey, I didn't ask for anything!" Yosuke exclaimed softly, worried that he would have to pay for his meal. Nise growled as he placed his iPhone next to his ear while it began to ring.

"Who said anythin' about you?! They're for me!" Nise growled. Yosuke deadpanned as his arms fell limp.

"Well of _course_ you did..." Yosuke grumbled. Nise began to place his order and explain where they were.

"Hello there..." a growl greeted, causing the two to freeze. It was Kanji, who was looking suspiciously at the two.

"Just what do ya think you're doing?" Kanji scowled. The two froze in fear for a brief moment, when the two both stood up at the same time, sweat rolling down their faces.

"Oh, well, we're just passing by…" Yosuke began, stammering a bit. "We're just you're everyday brothers!" Yosuke began to laugh nervously as Nise gave him a bored look.

"Uh, no. I'd rather go on a diet than be related to you" Nise growled.

"Play along, stupid brother!" Yosuke hissed. Meanwhile, the slender young man who was told to wait as Kanji dealt with Yosuke and Nise, sighed and began to leave. She felt as if she had gathered enough information and didn't want to waste her time waiting. Kanji walked closer to the two, eyeing them closely which caused the two to freeze.

"Didn't I see you guys yesterday…?" Kanji asked, causing Nise to smile nervously as Yosuke made a face of horror.

"Um, look, we weren't planning on getting in you guys' way, and there's nothing strange about it, either…" Nise began to ramble. "It's not like you're gay or anything and if you are, then that's totally cool too! I think that's great!" Yosuke froze at Nise's words, his face becoming pale. Kanji's eyes widened as he looked at Nise, a faint blush tinged his cheeks.

"D-Did you say…gay?" Kanji asked softly, taken back by Nise's words. Yosuke clenched his teeth and glanced at Nise as sweat dripped off his face.

"Nise, you moron! You just couldn't keep your mouth shut!" Yosuke growled through clenched teeth. He yelled for Nise to run for it, leaving Nise in the dust. Nise screamed and instantly ran after Yosuke, tears in his eyes.

"He-Hey, get back here!" Kanji yelled, running after them. "W-Wait, dammit!" Kanji chased after Yosuke and Nise, who were screaming with tears in their eyes. Scared witless, they ran in circles around the gazebo in the park, Kanji chasing them. To anyone viewing this, it would seem like a rather comical situation, when in reality; it wasn't.

"I know what it looks like, but you're wrong! I-I'm telling ya, i-it's not like that!" Kanji shouted, his face becoming really red. But because of Kanji's loud voice, this caused Nise to scream even louder as huge tears fell out of his eyes.

"This ain't what ya think!" Kanji yelled again, as he continued chasing after Yosuke and Nise. "Y-You got it all wrong! Hey! Are you listening, dammit?! It seriously ain't like that!"

This went on for about ten minutes before Nise and Yosuke managed to escape the loop that was them being chased around the gazebo by Kanji multiple times. They ran towards the textile shop, hoping that they're friends could help them out.

Hitomi's POV

Yukiko and I stared at the textile shop intensely, relaxing a bit as we watched a young boy and his grandfather leave the store with cloth wrapped in paper. There was no way an elderly man and a child could be the culprit. With a small sigh, I looked over in the other direction. I blinked in surprise when I began to hear a two cries as well as see dust coming over our way. The cloud of dust was quickly coming closer, two figures becoming clear. It was Nise and Hanamura, their faces drenched with either sweat, water, or tears as they cried our way.

"Sorry, we brought trouble!" Hanamura screamed. Hanamura and Nise zoomed by the shop, the cloud of dust following them.

"Yukiko, I'm sorry!" Nise cried as he ran by. I looked back over to the direction they came and saw another figure running towards us.

"Is Kanji-kun behind them?" I heard Yukiko ask. The figure quickly became clear, and I saw that it was Tatsumi. I blinked in surprise, tugging on Yukiko's sleeve.

"We should run" I instructed, pulling her gently behind me as I continued to stare at Tatsumi. Yukiko and I gasped as we heard Tatsumi shout something fearful, causing us to grab our bags and run after Nise and Hanamura, quickly catching up with them.

"I told you to wait up! You are dead! You are so freaking dead!" I heard Tatsumi shout after us. I was too nervous to look over my shoulder and see how far away from us he was, so I continued to run, catching up with Nise who was crying.

"Aw crap!" Hanamura panted. "He's gonna get us all at this rate!" Hanamura looked over to Nise and gave him a pleading but serious look.

"Hey, Nise! Time for you to shake him off our tail!" Hanamura instructed, firmly. Nise exclaimed in surprise, turning his attention to Hanamura.

"Why me?!" Nise asked, his voice shaking from crying and running.

"You know that line in the movies?!" Hanamura began. "'You keep goin' and I'll handle this guy!' Well, now's your chance to say it!" Magically, all the tears that had drenched Nise's face was gone and a strange sparkle shone in his eyes.

"Well, he's got a point!" Nise cheered, sounding excited.

"Nise! Don't let him try and trick you!" Yukiko warned. Suddenly, the girl from the Chinese restaurant "Aiya" riding a scooter drove up to us.

"Got your order here. Two bowls of Nikudon" the girl, whose name was Aiko I believe, said. Hanamura exclaimed in surprise as Nise looked excitedly at the metal boxes in the basket behind Aika. My face paled slightly at the sight of the scooter and I began to sweat once Aika drove the scooter near Nise and I.

"Hey, how the hell did you find us?!" Hanamura asked. "We're nowhere _close_ to where we placed that order!" Aika, ignoring Hanamura's question opened the box behind her and pulled out a tray with two bowls supposedly full with rice and Nikudon. I became _very_ uneasy as Aika drove the scooter with one hand, the other hand steadily holding the tray of food.

"And your total is... 16 hundred yen" Aika explained. My fear coming over me, I ran over to Yukiko's side.

"This is just weird!" Hanamura exclaimed. Nise pulled out his wallet from his pants pocket, looking at the rest of us.

"Sorry, do you have any change?" Nise asked.

"You're really going to do this?!" Hanamura asked, surprised by the chain of events. Yukiko shuffled through her bag and pulled out her wallet.

"Nise, here's a hundred yen!" Yukiko said with a smile, holding out her hand with the yen coin. I blinked nervously as I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Please save it for later!" I ordered. Nise grabbed the tray of Nikudon and smiled at Aika.

"When you're done... Just leave the bowls" Aika instructed before driving off.

"And where the hell do we do that?!" Hanamura shouted.

* * *

I rested my head on the wall of a bridge that lead to the highway, the cold cement feeling nice on my hot face.

"We... finally... ditched... that... guy..." Hanamura panted.

"That was... really close..." I panted. I looked over to Nise, who was sitting on the the ground, a bowl of Nikudon on his lap.

"Is it good... Nise?" Yukiko asked, panting. Nise nodded happily as he took a bite of his food.

"Oh yeah it is... It's delicious~!" Nise cheered happily. I blinked nervously at Nise's action, finally regulating my breathing.

"Man, this sucks!" Hanamura ground, catching my attention. He pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning on and crossed his arms over his chest.

"We totally failed on our first mission!" Hanamura whined, looking exhausted and disappointed. "We might as well give up!" Hanamura began to walk back in the direction we came.

"But what will happen to Kanji-kun?" Amagi asked. Hanamura stopped in his tracks, letting out a sigh.

"That guy's gonna be fine on his own! He won't let anyone take him down without a fight" Hanamura began. "It seems like nothing happened today, so everything's fine. It's already been a few days since he appeared on the Midnight Channel. If this is anything like your case, Yukiko; it'll happen soon."

"We can't let our guard down" I remarked. "We should go back again tomorrow to check up on him." Hanamura sighed as he waved goodbye and began to walk again, not even looking at us.

"Alright sure, but we are _done_ for today" Hanamura sighed. I nodded in agreement, looking over to Yukiko and Nise. Yukiko nodded, smiling a bit.

"Hey, guys?" Nise began, holding up the two bowls of Nikudon. "Where should I leave this?" I blinked in surprise.

"You're done already?" I asked. Nise smiled in triumph, giving me a thumbs up. I sighed softly and rubbed the back of my now sweaty head.

"She said to just leave it anywhere so... Just leave it here. I get this feeling that she'll find it" I suggested. Nise nodded and placed the bowls down on the tray and stood up, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. With that said, Yukiko and Nise walked home together while I walked home by myself. On my way home, it began to rain. With a sigh, I used my bag to cover my head and ran the rest of the way home.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

I opened the door to the Dojima residence, and instantly removed my shoes that were now soaked. I shivered at the warmth of the house, placing my bag down and began to empty it out.

"Welcome home, Big Sis!" I heard Nanako call out. I looked up and saw Nanako approaching me with a big smile that quickly turned into a worried frown.

"Oh, you got wet by the rain?" Nanako asked. I nodded slowly, placing all the contents from my bag on top of the table near me.

"I'll go and get you a towel and get the bath ready" Nanako said as she rushed to the bathroom.

"Thank you, Nanako" I called out, fidgeting. I wanted to remove my pantyhose, but it would be a bit embarrassing if Dojima suddenly came home. The odds were really low of that happening, but I wanted to be on the safe side.

* * *

Once I took my bath and dried up, Nanako and I did our usual routine of eating dinner she bought by ourselves. My legs were a lot more sore than I had thought, and once I waited for the midnight channel to come on, I laid down on the couch. With nothing much to do, I decided to clean my Aiko Fujioka figurine. I made sure to take my time, so that when I was done- it was almost midnight. I sighed and got up from my sofa. I made my way over to the television and stared at the screen. Suddenly, my iPhone began to ring. Confused, I walked over to it, unhooked it; I saw that it was Yukiko.

"Good evening, Yukiko-chan" I greeted.

" _O-Oh, hello_ " Yukiko replied, sounding a little flustered by my greetings. " _I'm sorry to call so late. Um, Kanji-kun seems to be missing!_ " I gasped softly in surprise, nearly dropped my iPhone.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

" _I had some calls to make for the inn, so I called the textile shop as well,_ " Yukiko explained. " _When I spoke to Kanji-kun's mother…She told me that he left the house and hasn't returned since. She did say that this happens all the time, but…what do you think?_ " I bit my bottom lip, glancing over at the television. It was almost midnight...

"This sounds bad…" I muttered.

" _I think so, too,_ " Yukiko agreed. " _He could be… Let's just wait and see what's on the Midnight Channel tonight. It's almost midnight and… we'll know for sure if something happened to Kanji-kun or not. Talk to you later._ " I nodded and said goodbye, shortly hanging up afterwards. Right on cue, the television flicked on, causing me to gasp and walk towards the screen. The image on the television was clear and sharp. It seemed to be what appeared to be a... Bathhouse changing room...? Suddenly, Tatsumi appeared on screen, wearing nothing more than a fundoshi and held a microphone. I covered my mouth to prevent me from screaming as I took a few steps back- my face exploding hot.

" _ **Hel-LO, dear viewers…It's time for 'Bad, Bad Bathhouse!**_ '" Tatsumi said with a wink. Strange music started to play in the background, as if to match the mood Kanji was trying to create.

" ** _I am so hot! I am on fire!_** " Tatsumi squealed as he hugged himself. " _ **You know I've got a smoking hot body! What should I do with it?**_ " I blinked nervously as I heard Tatsumi's flamboyant, suggestive tone. This _must_ be his shadow.

" ** _My blood is boiling!_** " The camera zoomed up on Kanji's lips. " ** _It makes me wanna groove…and shake my thing!_** " I covered my eyes as Tatsumi began to do some pelvic thrusting.

" ** _Tonight, I'll introduce a superb site for those searching for sublime love that surpasses the separation of sexes!_** " Tatsumi growled, seductively. I spread out my fingers to see the image on screen, thinking that it was safe to look.

" _ **I'm your host, Kanji Tatsumi, serving you this scandalously special sneak-in report!**_ " Tatsumi's lisp was becoming more apparent at this point. " ** _Goodness gracious, just imagine the things that might happen to me there! Ooooh~! Well then, let's get this show on the road! Tootaloo!_** " Tatsumi turned around and practically skipped all the way over to the bathhouse entrance, causing me to cover my eyes once again. Soon, the music died off and the light from the television turned off. Suddenly, my iPhone rang, causing me to squeak softly in surprise. Fiddling with my phone, calming my hands that were almost _glowing_ red and saw that it was Hanamura.

"H-H-He-Hello, Ha-Hanamura?" I stuttered.

" _H-H-Hey! What the—I mean—?!_ " Hanamura replied, sounding obviously flustered. I nodded, understanding why Hanamura was stuttering.

"Calm down, Hanamura" I said with a silent sigh, cooling down my own flustered face.

" _But that was completely over the top!_ " Hanamura exclaimed. " _Though... It really was Kanji. Damnit... We guessed right, but he still slipped through our fingers._ " Hanamura sighed in slight regret.

" _In any case, that place that was behind him… What do you think it is?_ " Hanamura began. " _A 'superb site for those searching for sublime love'? I just don't get it!_ " I nodded in agreement.

"You and me both" I replied.

" _Anyways…We'd better hurry and come up with a plan tomorrow!_ " Hanamura instructed. I agreed, said goodnight, and hung up shortly after. I sighed softly as I walked back over to my dresser to re hook my iPhone. Tatsumi... Based on the patterns, he must be inside the television already. I bit my bottom lip gently in slight regret. If only we had stayed there and talked to Tatsumi himself... I shook my head with a sigh. What's done is done, and hopefully tomorrow... We can save Tatsumi.

* * *

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair. She quickly recognized this place as the Velvet Room. Igor, the man with the long nose, must have summoned her again in her dreams.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" Igor greeted. Hitomi nodded, finding it polite since she has not been summoned to the Velvet Room for rather long time. The platinum-blonde haired woman next to him, known as Margaret, looked over at Hitomi with her usual blank look.

"I see you have made yet _another_ new bond" Margaret began, catching Hitomi's attention. A card, showing a top hat next to a full moon with strange designs on it, descended in front of Margaret; dissolving into the old tome on her lap. The tome grew a light blue, as if becoming one with the card, and Margaret opened it up. There, in the middle of the book was a moving picture of Hitomi talking with Yukiko. A warm feeling washed over Hitomi as the corners of her mouth twitched. It had been a severely long time since she has made any female friends. She was sure to treasure the one she made with Yukiko.

"And that bond has allowed you to obtain the Empress Arcana" Margaret finished.

"Be warned," Igor began with his eyes closed, catching Hitomi's attention. "There is a disaster looming in your future. And as it draws ever closer, it claims even more lives." Hitomi flinched at Igor's words, slight nervousness filling her.

"But there is no reason for you to be afraid," Igor continued. "You already possess the power you will need to _strike back_." Margaret looked over to Hitomi, catching her attention.

"When you find yourself in a situation where you _truly_ need us," Margaret began, her eyes gleaming with seriousness. "The door will open. And we will be there, ready to offer you our assistance." Igor looked up at Hitomi and laughed, causing her to flinch and look at him.

"I look forward to that day!" Igor chuckled. "Well then, it is time for us to bid farewell" Soon, Hitomi's consciousness began to fade as the room slowly began to be engulfed by darkness.

* * *

 ** _Wednesday, May 18th_ | _Morning..._**

Hitomi's POV

"Should we halt class and take a nap?" Morooka asked as he looked out into the classroom. The room instantly went abuzz and cheered, some even pulling out pillows from their bags.

"Shape up, assholes! Put those pillows back, where's your dignity!" Morooka shouted angrily, slapping his notebook to the desk. The room went quiet as the people who pulled out pillows slowly put them back.

"The first-years are slacking off because _you guys_ are slacking off! Kanji Tatsumi is a _perfect_ example" Morooka began, causing me to flinch. "That lazy punk is always ditching! I'd expel his ass from school if _I_ were his homeroom teacher! You may think it's not any of your business, but it is! You could all be expelled _just_ as easily!"

"Cause any problems, and you earn a one-way ticket out of this place! You'd best keep that in mind!" Morooka shouted as he glared across the room. I couldn't help but glance down, not appreciating Morooka's cruel words. Morooka began the _actual_ lecture once the class replied in sync.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

The next day after school, everyone gathered around my desk. No one was happy, considering the circumstances. Hanamura sighed, drawing attention to him.

"Given the pattern so far, Kanji is already inside the TV…" Hanamura sighed.

"I wonder what the Midnight Channel really is…" Yukiko mused. I blinked in surprise, the thought making me think.

"At first, I thought it was one of those 'paranormal' things, but when I gave it a try…it was real" Nise began, resting his head in the palm of his hand. "Turns out it's actually connected to another world…"

"If there's a rumor going around, that means a bunch of people are watching it" Hanamura remarked.

"How did the rumor go again…?" Yukiko asked, her face looking as if she has been trying to recall something.

"If you stare into a turned-off TV on a rainy night… You're soul mate will appear on screen, or something like that. Right, Nise-kun?" I said as I glanced over to Nise. Nise was the one who told Hanamura and I about the rumor. Nise nodded in reply.

"No one in their right mind would try something that ridiculous, don'tcha think? Unless someone urged them to." Hanamura pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest. " But if you actually try, it does work. And not just once. If this rumor spreads and everyone starts watching the Midnight Channel…"

"It could cause a huge panic…" Nise sighed with a frown.

"If Berry is right, the missing people themselves create the stuff we see," Hanamura remarked. "So it's not random. It's specifically related to whoever goes missing." Nise nodded in agreement.

"There's something the _real_ Kanji Tatsumi wants us to see. Yukiko had a show too, but she doesn't remember doing anything like that" Nise said.

"Um, this might be a little off subject, but…" Yukiko began, catching our attention. "The culprit is probably watching the shows that come on… Right?" Nise scoffed, slamming his hand that was holding his head up down onto his table.

"No doubt. He's probably sitting back and enjoying—" Nise trailed off as his eyes widened. "Wait a sec… I bet he IS enjoying it! He's probably laughing his head off watching the 'show' that comes on after he throws people into the TV!" I blinked nervously as a male figure, laughing, entered my mind.

"Ahhh, I get it" Hanamura began. "Yeah, it's definitely possible. Ugh… Now when I think of the killer, I get this image of a total sicko! 'I wanna see everything about you, Yuki-chan!'" I felt all the blood in my face drain as the laughing man in my head turned into a completely different person, drooling and breathing heavily in front of his television. I covered my mouth, feeling myself wanting to gag.

"Urgh, ugh, ugh!" Nise exclaimed, making puking sounds. I blinked nervously as my hand covering my mouth slid down to my chest.

"Ngh... I'm a little sick now..." I muttered under my breath. Suddenly, Nise slammed both his hands onto his desk as he stood up, surprising me.

"Wait, so if people saw Yukiko's show, do you think people were watching what happened to me too?!" Nise asked, his face reddening. Before anyone could answer, Nise growled like a wild animal, a vein being visible on his forehead.

"Oh, that is IT! That killer is _dead_ meat! I'm gonna leave footprints all over his face!" Nise growled. "Guys! First, we save Kanji Tatsumi! Then, we crush the killer! Finally, we crush the killer and send him to hell! Got it?!" I nodded. I could feel the group had all strengthened our resolve to save Tatsumi. At that moment, Yukiko started to laugh.

"Ni-Nise, those last two were the same thing…" Yukiko laughed softly, suppressing her laughter with her right hand. Nise looked nervously at Yukiko, his face turning less red.

"Uh…I know…" Nise replied with a bored tone.

"Why don't we go to the other world and ask Berry if she can find Tatsumi-san" I suggested. The other nodded and once we gathered our stuff, we left for Junes. Thankfully for us, Hanamura had the ability to place our bags under one of the cashier counters for safe keeping.

* * *

I helped Hanamura stand up after falling from the television. As usual, Hanamura still can't fall feet first like the others. Even Yukiko had learned how to land on her feet. And this was about her second time entering the television. Hanamura groaned as he stood up, rubbing his back.

"That's it, I'm gonna start going in last" Hanamura announced as everyone walked towards Berry who was standing in a corner.

"Just keep your legs straight, Yosuke! Why is that so hard for you to do?" Nise teased.

"Shut up!" Hanamura growled, turning his attention over to Berry. "Hey Berry, someone's here right?" Berry, finally noticing our presence turned around, a rather sad look on her face.

"Oh... Yep. I think someone's here" Berry replied, weakly.

"You think...? Do you know where he is?" Nise asked, not noticing Berry's sad tone.

"I dunno" Berry replied, her ears flattening.

"We think it's a boy named Kanji Tatsumi..." Yukiko explained, also not noticing Berry sad state.

"I dunno..." Berry muttered, looking down at her paws. I walked over to Berry and patted her head.

"What's wrong, Berry?" I asked. Berry hugged my legs, looking up at me with her big eyes.

"It's terrible, Sensei!" Berry began. "I sniff and sniff, but for the life of me I can't tell where the smell comes from!" I rubbed Berry's head in comfort as she gave my legs a squeeze.

"Aren't you thinking too much about too many things?" Hanamura asked. "I mean, last time you were wondering about who you really are and how long you've been here. You're head's empty to begin with. Don't stress out over stuff too much." Usually, this would be the point where Berry would snap at Hanamura for being inconsiderate of her feelings. But this time, she merely nodded and let go of my legs, plopping down onto the ground.

"You're right..." Berry muttered. My heart pierced with sadness, causing me to hug Berry in comfort.

"So, then... What now?" I heard Nise ask, catching my attention. "Listen, if Berry can't find him, we're totally screwed!" Hanamura smiled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I don't know what else to do! Maybe we should call it quits this time!" Hanamura suggested quickly, laughing nervously.

"You know what, that doesn't sound half bad! Let's go home!" Nise laughed nervously. Yukiko gave the boys a stern look, placing her hands on her hips.

"Quitting isn't an option right now. Didn't you want to save Kanji-kun and then crush the killer?" Yukiko pointed out, causing Nise to freeze. Slowly, Nise looked over to Yukiko and smiled nervously.

"W-Well, can we just skip over Kanji and crush the killer...?" Nise asked weakly, earning a small glare from Yukiko.

"Oh! I just got a beary good idea!" Berry suddenly exclaimed, turning my attention to her. Berry looked at me and smiled with big sparkly eyes.

"Maybe I could find him if you give me a hint about this Kanji person!" Berry suggested. I tilted my head to the side slightly.

"A hint? Like what, Berry?" I asked.

"Just something that can help me get a better understanding of him! Or even something of his that might has his scent on it!" Berry explained. I nodded in understanding, standing up. I looked at the other, a stern look on my face.

"Alright, let's go and talk to people who Tatsumi-san personally" I instructed. the boys paled slightly, looking nervous about doing this as Yukiko nodded.

"How about we head over to the textile shop and ask his mother? That's about as personal as we can get" Yukiko suggested. I nodded and everyone climbed to the television set to escape.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but... He hasn't been home since yesterday." This, coming from Tatsumi's mother, said sadly with a worried look on her face. Thankfully, this time I stood next to Yukiko and Hanamura instead of being blockaded by everyone like last time.

"I told the police about it" the elderly woman began. "I'm concerned because its been so dangerous lately." I nodded in understanding.

"I can understand why you're worried" I said politely. The woman smiled gently, a genuine look on her face.

"Thank you" she replied. "It's normal for him to leave without saying a word. but he's _always_ come home before..."

"Huh, who knew?" Nise began, tying his hands behind his head. "I would have thought that he would've been fighting until dawn almost every night." Hanamura jabbed Nise in the stomach, causing him to squeak.

"Hey, you're talking to his mother here!" Hanamura scowled.

"Tatsumi-san seems like a good boy" I began. "He fought off that entire biker gang recently because you had complained about the noise, correct?" The other exclaimed in surprise as the elderly woman blinked in surprise.

"Are you for real?!" Nise asked, sounding surprise. I looked over to him and nodded, causing him and Hanamura to exclaim again.

"That's right... How did you know?" the elderly woman asked. I looked over to her and rubbed the back of my head.

"Um, it's a bit of a long story..." I merely replied. Thankfully, the elderly woman seemed to have accepted that reply and looked down, sadly.

"Wow, now that is one aggressively devoted son...!" Hanamura said as he began to sweat. The elderly woman began to explain about the situation with Tatsumi and the biker gang. Since I had known the story, I turned around and began to walk out the store only to stop in surprise at what I saw. Across from the shop was a little boy wearing a red hat backwards, a blue and white jacket on top of a gray shirt, tan shorts, ankle high socks, and black sneakers. Confused by his presences, I walked over to him, causing him to stiffen up.

"Do you need something inside this shop?" I asked, squatting down to match the boy's height. The boy blushed a little bit as he fidgeted a little bit.

"Um, is that big guy here today?" the little boy asked.

"I'm sorry, but he's not home right now. Why did you want to see him?" I asked, tilting my head. The boy stuffed his right hand into his pocket and pulled something out. I blinked in surprise as I recognized the object. It was the pink knitted rabbit that Tatsumi had.

"He helped me with this" the boy began. "See, all I did was borrow Sana's cellphone strap and it had this bunny on the end. But then the little bunny fell off the strap and I couldn't find it anywhere..." The boy's voice cracked here and there as spoke, looking a bit emotion as he explained it to me.

"So then I began to cry. That big guy saw me and asked me what was wrong, and after I told him, I began to cry again. He told me not to cry anymore and said that he'd make something that looks like Sana's cellphone strap. He told me that when he was finished I should apologize to Sana and ask her to forgive me. He even went with me to apologize!" the boys face began to lighten as he stared at the little pink bunny he was holding.

"He even made one for me too, so I can match with Sana's bunny!" the boy giggled. I nodded, a warm feeling washing over me from the story. I suddenly heard people exclaim, causing me to nearly fall down on my bottom. I looked over my shoulders and saw that at some point during the boy's story, the others had listened to it as well.

"Are you saying that Kanji Tatsumi made a cute little bunny charm for you from scratch?" Hanamura asked, taking a few steps forward. The boy nodded happily. I looked back at the boy and stretched out my right hand.

"May I look at it?" I asked. The boy blushed a little and nodded, giving me the bunny. I stood up and showed it to the others.

"Amazing...! You'd have no idea this was hand-made!" Yukiko exclaimed. Nise stammered a bit as he stared intently at the charm.

"I-It's super cute... I really don't know how to process the idea of Kanji making this" Nise stuttered.

"This is freaky...! This totally destroy the image I have of him" Hanamura admitted. I gently closed my hand holding the charm and raised an eyebrow at Hanamura.

"Hey, everyone's got their thing" I pointed out, causing Hanamura to chuckle nervously.

"Because of everything the big guy did, Sana forgave me! So I wanted to stop by and say thank you" the boy explained. I nodded, when an idea suddenly came to my mind. I squatted down to match the boys height and held my hands close to my chest.

"Is it alright with you if we borrow this for a little bit? I promise to take good care of it" I said. The boy blushed a little and nodded, a big smile on his face. The boy then ran off, waving goodbye to us. I stood up and looked at the others.

"This will have Tatsumi-sans scent on it and explains quite a bit about him. Let's go back and show this to Berry" I instructed. The other nodded in agreement and we began to walk to Junes.

* * *

Upon entering Junes, Nise suddenly gasped in surprise, catching the group's attention.

"What's wrong, Nise?" Yukiko asked. Nise said nothing and continued to stare in front of him towards the direction of the direction of the elevators. I followed his gaze and saw the slender girl from yesterday waiting by the elevators. I walked towards the girl, catching her attention.

"So our paths crossed again," she said.

"Yeah, what a coincidence" Hanamura said as he walked next to me. The group stopped at a rather far distance from the girl, not wanting her to become too suspicious of us. The girl blinked, turning her attention towards us.

"Did you hear? It looks as if Kanji Tatsumi is hiding out somewhere" she said. I nodded, my hand holding onto the pink bunny tightening.

"It seems so" I replied.

"Hey by the way, just what exactly was it that you and Kanji were talking about yesterday?" Hanamura asked.

"Why do you want to know that for?" the girl asked, looking questioningly at Hanamura.

"Uh... Just curious is all" Hanamura replied. The girl made a rather bored face, glancing over to me. I stared at her as our eyes locked. She really like to lock eyes with me, it seems. After a moment, the girl nodded and looked back over to Hanamura.

"Alright, fair enough. And since your group seems to be in a hurry, I'll be completely straight with you" the girl said, causing Nise and Hanamura to exclaim in surprise. Apparently they didn't think that she would help us out this easily.

"When we met up yesterday, all I did was say hi and asked him about his recent activities," the girl explained.

"Really, it was just small talk?" Nise asked. The girl nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much" the girl began. She looked down and cupped her chin with her left hand, before continuing "But thinking back, he was acting a little peculiar." I blinked in surprise.

"He was?" I asked. The girl looked at me rather quickly, nodding.

"Yeah, and it kept getting worse so I called him out on it. I told him he was an odd person. Then he got awkward, his expression changed all of a sudden, and the color drained from his face… I was quite surprised."

"That is weird..." Hanamura began, a surprised look on his face. "He doesn't seem like the type who cares what other people think about him." I looked over to Hanamura and raised an eyebrow.

"Looks can be deceiving" I remarked.

"My thoughts exactly" the girl agreed. "He might be struggling... He may have some sort of complex or issue that no one knows about. But with my lack of evidence, I can't prove that yet." The elevator doors opened, several housewives inside beginning to walk out. I nodded to the girl, catching her attention.

"Thank you for sharing with us. We must be going now" I said. The girl nodded goodbye as I began to walk towards the elevator. Just like last time at the textile shop, our eyes locked and continued to lock until she was no longer in my sight. Once everyone entered the elevator, Hanamura pushed a button and we watched the girl slowly walk towards the doors. Looks can be deceiving...


	12. Shadow Kanji Tatsumi and a wish granted

I watched Berry sniff the pink knitted bunny, the other standing behind me. After we had conversed with the slender girl, we headed straight to Berry like we had planned and explained the information we had found. Watching Berry sniff the bunny, my mind began to wonder to the words that the girl had told us earlier. Tatsumi might have a complex and cares what people think about him... There are certainly a lot of things we don't know about Tatsumi.

"Man, that bear acts like some sort of creepy talking dog" Hanamura grumbled. At that moment, Berry exclaimed in surprise causing Hanamura to flinch.

"Hmm… Okay! I think I've bear-ifically got his scent!" Berry announced, spinning around and handing me the pink bunny. I held it close to my chest as Berry sniffed the air once more, sniffing over to the right.

"Okay! Follow the bear!" Berry instructed as she began to head off. The others quickly followed her, leaving me behind. Once the coast was clear, I stuffed the pink rabbit into my bra for safe keeping since I didn't have any pockets and quickly followed after the group.

* * *

After following Berry towards the direction she lead us to, we ended up reaching a rather traditional looking bathhouse with trees surrounding it.

"Tatsumi-san is in here…?" I asked softly, looking around the area. It didn't look half bad if it weren't for the red and black striped vortex of a sky.

"Is it just me, or does the fog here seem kinda different?" Nise asked.

"My glasses are fogging up..." Yukiko said as she removed her glasses. Being in front of a bathhouse, excess steam escaped the entrance, which was decorated with banners that read: MEN ONLY. I couldn't help but stiffen a little at the sign, wondering if this will go well for Nise and Hanamura.

"Man, it's hot… I'm soaked" Hanamura complained as he tugged on the collar of his shirt. "This place feels just like a-" Suddenly, music similar to what was on the Midnight Channel started playing. Everyone besides from me looked around in confusion.

" **C'mere, _pussycat_ …**" a distinctively male voice spoke in a teasing tone.

" **Oh…Such well defined pecs… And an amazing pair of abs~!** " another voice that was also male said, in response to the first voice, sounding extremely impressed and somewhat… coquettish.

" **There's no need to be scared…** " the first voice reassured. I blinked nervously at the sound of the voices, realizing that they were talking to us. Or, in this case, Nise and Hanamura.

"Uhhhh…" Yukiko stammered, at a loss for words.

" **Now, just _relax_ …**" the first voice continued. Nise and Hanamura suddenly exclaimed, catching my attention. I turned around and saw that the two had sickly pale faces, sweat dripping rapidly from their faces.

"W-Wait, hold on a second! L-Let's think about this!" Hanamura stuttered, taking a step back.

"I-I don't wanna go!" Nise wailed, taking three steps back. "It's too risky!" I looked at them with concern as Yukiko walked forward to Berry and I.

"Hey Berry, are you absolutely certain that Kanji-kun is in there?" Yukiko asked. Berry twirled around and pounded her chest with a proud look.

"The nose knows!" Berry proclaimed. Yukiko sighed as she looked at me nervously.

"I guess we have no choice but to go in there then..." Yukiko said weakly with a nervous smile. I nodded in agreement look over to Nise and Hanamura. These two will most certainly have some difficulty in here.

"Nise-kun, Hanamura" I began, causing the two to flinch. "This will be very uncomfortable for you two and you two might not want to go in. To make this less uncomfortable, I came up with a plan. Let's rush in, save Tatsumi-san, and leave as soon as we can okay?" Nise and Hanamura blushed at my words, a look of slight relief on their faces.

"Aw man, you're so nice Narukami-chan!" Nise wept, a smile on his face as tears streamed down his eyes.

"So considerate of our feelings...!" Hanamura also wept. I felt my face heat up a little at their compliments, rubbing the back of my neck. With a soft sigh, I looked over to Yukiko.

"I'm going to depend on you a lot here. The boys won't be giving their 100% effort because of their discomfort" I explained. Yukiko smiled and nodded.

"Alright, I'll do everything I can" Yukiko replied. I nodded a thank you before I turned my attention over to Hanamura and walked over to him. I grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind me, wanting to make sure that he wouldn't suddenly disappear on us. Yukiko grabbed Nise's wrist like I did to Hanamura and the four of us followed after Berry who was starting to go on ahead.

* * *

We had traveled through the bathhouse up to the third floor without any problems so far. Berry took the lead with me right behind her while Yukiko kept an eye on the guys.

"It's hot, this sucks..." I heard Hanamura complain. I didn't pay any mind to it, since it was the third time he had complained. It also let me know that he was still with us and hadn't run away.

"I can't believe that we're really doing this..." I heard Nise also complain.

"Hey I know, we should split up!" Hanamura began, causing me to look over my shoulder to see the boys looking at each other with weary smiles. "Narukami-chan and Yukiko could go ahead and charge in with full force, then we can go back outside and guard the entrance, okay?" Hanamura and Nise stopped as Nise nodded violently in agreement.

"Good plan!" Nise cheered, the two already about to turn around and leave.

"Hold on, you guys!" Yukiko began, grabbing the back of Nise and Hanamura's collars. "Hitomi-chan and I are just as uncomfortable as you two, but we came here to save Kanji-kun since we're the only ones who can! Please try to keep that in mind and hang in there for a little bit longer!"

"You're right..." Hanamura sighed, nervously. The boys exchanged nervous glances with each other before I turned around and started walking again.

"He isn't the complete thug that I thought he was, so we should just man up a bit and see if we can help..." I heard Nise say nervously. Berry suddenly squealed as she rushed towards a door. Becoming alert, I rushed after her and shoved the door open, confidently walking inside. When I walked inside, there I saw Tatsumi- or rather, his _Shadow_ \- with his back facing me. Once the others entered the room as well, I herd Nise and Hanamura exclaim a bit, causing Tatsumi's shadow to turn around in surprise. Noticing us, the shadow chuckled and began to flex.

" **Oooooh, my my!** " Shadow Tatsumi exclaimed into the microphone he had in his hand as he flexed his muscles. " **Thank you for your undivided attention, sweeties! At last, I've penetrated the facility! These images are coming to you live from inside this steamy paradise! But I've yet to have any charming encounters…or have I?** " At that point, Shadow Tatsumi winked not at me, but rather what was behind me. Confused, I looked over my shoulder and saw that everyone, even Yukiko, hiding behind a large sign that had the kanji for "Men" on it. Hanamura and Nise instantly summoned their persona's, Tomoya and Jiraiya hovering over them- ready to fight. I turned to face them and waved my hands in front of me nervously.

"Hey, come on you guys, calm down!" I instructed. Hanamura shook his head violently as his glasses became covered in fog, not allowing me to see his eyes.

"Skrew that, I say we just get this done! I don't know if I can handle another second of this freaky place!" Hanamura shouted, his voice cracking as he grabbed his head.

"This is so wrong in so many ways!" Nise wailed, his glasses also fogged up.

" **Oh, boo…** " I heard Tatsumi's shadow fume, turning my attention to him.

" **It seems I haven't, then. Could this hot fog be the cause? It's like steam rising from sweat! Mmmm, my body's tingling with excitement!** " Shadow Tatsumi squealed as he hugged himself.

" **Is everyone hot and bothered? Because I definitely am!** " Shadow Tatsumi giggled, twirling around and doing some pelvic thrusting. I felt my face explode in embarrassment as I covered my eyes, my body tingling.

"Come on Sensei, not you too!" I heard Berry squeak. I spread open my fingers and saw that Izanagi was standing in front of me, blocking my view of Tatsumi's shadow. I looked over to Berry with an apologetic look.

"S-Sorry, but even I have a limit to this..." I whimpered.

" **Alright, sweeties! Now that everyone is feelin' hot 'nd bothered, it's time for our next segment!** " I heard Tatsumi's Shadow exclaim, causing me to look past Izanagi. Tatsumi's Shadow was flexing when a colorful sign appeared above him, purple, white, and red roses flowing from it. It read, "MEN ONLY! Kanji Tatsumi in 'Rosy Steam Paradise'!"

"Aw man, I remember it being kinda like this on Yukiko's show, too…" Nise muttered as he and Hanamura slowly walked forward, being at the same level I was. Yukiko blushed madly as she started to stammer.

"N-No it wasn't! It wasn't anything like this!" Yukiko said quickly, suddenly becoming depressed once she finished her sentence and began to ramble on to herself. Disembodied voices suddenly started mumbling incoherently, almost sounding agitated.

"Those voices again…" Nise muttered as he pursed his lips. "Wait, are they louder this time?" I closed my eyes to enhance my hearing. Just as Nise had pointed out, they definitely did sound louder than the voices in Yukiko's Castle.

"These voices…" Hanamura began, my eyes opening at the sound of his voice. "I was wondering whose they could be, since it's only the victim in here… Is it the people watching outside?"

"You mean, everybody who's watching the Midnight Channel? They're reacting to the 'show'?" Nise asked. "If that's true, then Kanji's going to become a legend in a way he _never_ intended..." The disembodied voices came back again, only this time, much louder than before. Berry squeaked in fear, running over to me.

"The Shadows are getting restless!" Berry squeaked, tugging at my skirt.

" **Well then, I do love getting my grove on with ya but in my hunt for more love…** " Shadow Tatsumi began as he started flexing his muscles once more. He then started to thrust his pelvis as he exclaimed, " **I shall _thrust_ deeper in!** " I hid behind Izanagi, feeling my face become hot again by Shadow Tatsumi's actions.

"Hold on!" Hanamura called out as he began to ran after the skipping shadow. I followed in pursuit, wanting to support Hanamura once he became too uncomfortable to continue on. Suddenly, sirens echoed in the room, causing Hanamura and I to look up. Large amounts of Shadows we have never seen before, looking like fat police officers with holes in their stomach, came flying towards us.

"Here they come. They might be tough so look sharp!" I instructed. Hanamura and Nise nodded, sending off Tomoya and Jiraiya to deal with the Shadows. I was about to send Izanagi to attack some as well when suddenly Yukiko shouted, " **THAT REALLY TICKS ME OFF!** " I turned around, surprised, just in time to see Yukiko pull out her fan as a blue light surrounded her. Yukiko looked sharply at her card and strike her card with her fan, the same glass breaking sound echoing at the impact.

"Konohana Sakuya!" Yukiko called out as her persona hovered above her. Konohana Sakuya spread open her arms, causing the shadows to explode in fire. I gasped softly in surprise at Yukiko's strength, as well as the sight of Jiraiya on fire.

"OW! Hothothothothothothothothothothothothot!" Hanamura screamed, causing me to look over at him and saw that he had also caught on fire. Berry exclaimed in amazement as she watched Hanamura do a strange dance in hope to get rid of the fire.

"I got you, Yosuke!" Nise called out as he pointed his hand over to Jiraiya. Tomoya twirled his spear around and pointed it at Jiraiya, causing Jiraiya to suddenly be covered in ice. I looked over to Hanamura and saw that he too was covered in ice.

"O-O-Okay, n-now I-I'm f-f-f-freezing" Hanamura stuttered. Thinking this wasn't good for his health, I looked over to Izanagi and nodded. Knowing what to do, Izanagi flew over to Jiraiya and smashed the ice off of him; freeing Hanamura as well.

"This place is dangerous... Because of how uncomfortable it is for us, we can't use our persona's correctly and will attack without thinking. Let's keep an eye out and keep moving" I instructed. The four, including Berry, nodded at my orders and the five of us began to run towards the direction Tatsumi's Shadow went, our persona's guiding the way.

* * *

3rd POV

 _"Ah, Kan-chan! Did you make this one yourself? It looks great!"_

A little girl cheered as she looked over a little boy her age. The little boy had just finish making a flower crown decorated with four leaf clovers, daisies, and sakura petals.

 _"You're really good—you draw well too, right?"_

 _"Kan-chan's so awesome!"_

Kanji, who was sleeping while sprawled onto the cold, tiled floor, slowly opened his eyes as the little girl and boy vanished. The little boy was him... back before everything had happened. And the little girl was...

Kanji blinked a few times as his vision began to focus. For some reason, he couldn't remember the little girls name. He did remember though that she was the one he liked but rejected him unconsciously because of that purse. Kanji shook his head as he stood up, finally noticing the steam and hot atmosphere.

"The hell...? Where the hell am I?" Kanji muttered to himself, looking around as far as he could see with the obscure steam in the way. He noticed that the room he was in was full of long, bathtubs that lined both sides of the room. Steaming hot water filled the tubs to the brim and decorative lanterns hung from the ceiling, lighting the room. The room was so steamy and hot, Kanji's face was sweating uncontrollably. Kanji took a step forward as he looked around, when suddenly he saw something on the floor. Curious, Kanji walked over to it and flinch once he saw what it was. It was a bright pink purse with flower designs on it. Unconsciously, Kanji bent down and gently picked up the purse, as if dealing with a child.

"This is..." Kanji muttered to himself. He knew very well what it was.

 _"Oh, no! My purse!"_ a little girl's voice cried out, causing Kanji to flinch. It was the same voice as the girl from earlier, in his dream.

 _"The strap tore off! What am I going to do?"_

 _"R-Really, Kan-chan? You'll fix it for me?"_

 _"T-Thank you, Kan-chan—"_ Kanji began to sweat nervously, the little girl's face flashing into his mind as she smiled. Kanji closed his eyes tightly as he braced what was about to come.

 _"Ew—how disgusting!"  
"Whoa, Tatsumi—you're into THAT kind of stuff?"  
"That's SO weird!"  
"Even though you're a guy—this looks SO bad!"  
"You're a boy, you know!"  
"You're a boy!"_

Kanji hated being told that when he was in elementary school, before he had bleached his hair and started acting tough. This was when he wore big, black, nerd glasses, matching his natural black hair. His female classmates used to be so supportive of him. Then slowly, day by day, they started to avoid him… Except for one girl, who always stuck by his side. When the strap on her purse tore off, he offered to fix it. She was so grateful to him at first… And then everything went wrong after that.  
His once-supportive female peers started poking fun at him. He didn't know why they began to, they just did. At some point, somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought that they were jealous of him. But once they started being especially mean to the girl whose purse he mended, that thought went away. It wasn't a surprise that they made her cry, but Kanji never expected to have the girl throw her purse right in his face before running out of the classroom. When she did that, it felt like his heart had been destroyed. He liked her, and by throwing her purse at him, his love was rejected. It hurt him so much that when he went home that day, he cried himself to sleep. He was only ten years old when that happened…

 _"You're a boy!"_

That was what one of his male classmates kept saying to him when Kanji tried to draw something. Kanji tried so hard to ignore his classmate, since he loved to draw. He had so much patience for the boy, but it quickly went away after what he did next. The boy grabbed Kanji's glasses and threw them in the trash as well as rip the paper that Kanji was drawing on. That day, Kana Tatsumi- his mother- had to apologize on Kanji's behalf when she learned her son punched one of his classmates in the stomach. The punch was so hard; it had knocked the boy onto the floor. For the first time ever, Kanji Tatsumi had gotten in trouble for fighting. He was only eleven years old and had endured almost a year of taunting from his classmates before he finally snapped. Ever since that day... Kanji gritted his teeth as he shook his head, shaking out the painful memories. The pure suddenly disappeared, causing Kanji to gasp. Then voices began to echo in the room, catching Kanji's attention.

"If someone's there, come out already!" Kanji shouted.

 _"Kanji Tatsumi's a fight-loving delinquent and a bum."_

"What was that?!" Kanji shouted as he shook his fist in the air, becoming mad. He was done listening to voices who just taunted him and was not going to take any back talk like this.

 _"First he trashes a biker gang, becomes their boss, and now he thinks he's King of the Mountain!"_

"Cut the crap! I never became their boss!" Kanji scowled. He might have beat the crap out of the biker gang, but he didn't became their boss. They didn't even ask him.

 _"Aren't you the one at school stealing kids' pocket money?"_

"No, I don't steal stuff! And don't just assume that it was me!" Kanji growled, his blood boiling in anger. He had never stolen anything in his life. He hated how everyone assumed everything was his fault when something went wrong.

 _"We all know Kanji did it. He's just that kind of guy."_

"Shut the hell up!" Kanji yelled. "And don't go spreadin' lies! Now come out so I can kill your ass!" At that moment, Kanji heard someone laugh. He wasn't alone anymore…

" **And that is why you put on this scary delinquent act!** " the person said, their voice sounding eerily distorted. " **'Come out so I can kill your ass'! Such a façade…** " Kanji narrowed his eyes as he looked around.

"Who the hell's talking to me now?" Kanji asked.

" **Kanji, the threatening thug,** " the person said, his voice echoing through the room. " **Talk about manly! That's how you want to be viewed, isn't it? But that's not who you are~!** " Kanji gritted his teeth as he saw someone approaching him through the steam. His eyes widened once he saw clearly who it was.

"You're... me?!" Kanji gasped.

* * *

Hitomi's POV

I stared blankly at a pair of tall wooden doors, colorful spray-paint on it that spelt the words: "Welcome to Tropical Paradise".

"He... He's behind here... Isn't he..." I heard Nise whimper.

"Y-Yeah... He's gotta be..." Hanamura stuttered.

"O-Okay, let's go in there and save Tatsumi-san" I instructed nervously.

"Yeah, and let's keep our cool" Yukiko added.

"You might want to take your own advice" Hanamura said weakly, causing Yukiko to become flustered. The four of us stared at the door for a bit, a nervous tension in the air.

"Um... Why aren't you opening the door?" Berry asked as she tugged at my sleeve. The guys exclaimed in realization before looking over to Berry.

"D-Do we really have to? I mean, sometimes you can see certain things and then they get seared into your brain forever, and ever... and ever" Hanamura whimpered. I took a deep breath and thought for a moment about how I should play this out. Izanagi, Jiraiya, and Tomoya all are male persona's with male owners, excluding myself. The only female one seems to be Yukiko's. I have been using Yukiko a lot as we progressed through the both house, so it looks like I'm going to depend on her the most in this battle. I looked over to Yukiko and grabbed the end of her sleeve, causing her to look at me in surprise.

"You're going to be my number one for this fight, Yukiko-chan. We have to work hard so that Nise-kun and Hanamura doesn't have to suffer as much" I instructed. Yukiko nodded with a serious look and together, the two of us approached the doors. I could hear Hanamura and Nise bawling behind us, saying how kind Yukiko and I were. With a deep breath, I pushed the doors open, bracing myself for whatever was going to be on the other side.

I nearly fell face first into the room at what I saw. Inside the room, there was the real Tatsumi pinning down his Shadow in a position that was _definitely_ wrong to look at.

" **Oh, wow!** " Shadow Tatsumi exclaimed. " **You're so gentle. It's sublime!** "

"This is really awkward..." I heard Nise, Hanamura, and Yukiko say at the same time as Berry helped me stand straight without falling over. I covered my face with both of my hands, refusing to let me see something so sexual while only being a second year in high school.

"Huh? Oh shit—What the hell are you guys doing here?!" I heard Tatsumi exclaim, noticing us.

"Well, we uh..." Hanamura began. "Came here to save you..." Nise finished.

"Well you guys sure as hell don't sound all that motivated!" Tatsumi shouted.

" **Upsy-daisy!** " Shadow Tatsumi giggled, shortly accompanied by a grunt from Tatsumi. It sounds as if the Shadow pushed Tatsumi off. Thinking it was safe, I spread my fingers open and saw Shadow Tatsumi standing and flexed his muscles.

" **I won't let you interfere!** " Shadow Tatsumi said with a stern voice. I blinked in confusion, lowering my hands to my chest. At that moment, a clear liquid started to cover most of the floor underneath us, not touching Tatsumi of his Shadow. In the corner of my eye, I saw that Yukiko took a step forward, looking questionably at the ground.

"What is this? Is this supposed to slow us—Waah!" Yukiko squeaked as she started to slip. I gasped and reached out to her, grabbing her wrist in an attempt to keep her friend from falling down. Unfortunately, Yukiko and I fell down to the ground, the clear liquid feeling super squishy. I groaned a little as I tried to get up, feeling the clear wet and squishy liquid between my fingers and thighs, soaking my clothes.

"Sensei, Yuki-chan!" Berry squeaked.

"Are you two okay?!" I heard Nise ask.

"Why are you guys crawling on the floor...?" I heard Hanamura ask, his voice trailing off as I slipped a little on the liquid.

"Eww, this is slimy!" Yukiko complained as she tried to get off the floor, only to slip and fall back down. I used all the strength I had to keep myself from falling, my body shaking in the process.

"This is so gross…" I whispered as I wiped off some of the liquid on my chest. "It's all over me...!"

"Nise, you wouldn't happen to have a video camera on you, would you?!" I heard Hanamura ask, an excited tone in his voice.

"I wish I had one" Nise replied, seriously. I felt my face heat up, realizing that my rear end was most likely what the guys were looking at, and looked over my shoulder to the guys.

"Tha-That isn't funny you guys...!" I stuttered, my voice shaking as I struggled to hold myself up. The guys suddenly looked away, covering their mouths as their faces exploded red.

"You bastard…" I heard Tatsumi growl, catching my attention. For some reason, he looked extremely exhausted as struggled to stand up.

" **Honey, why don't you just drop the charade?** " Shadow Tatsumi said as he walked over to the real Tatsumi.

"Huh?" Tatsumi scowled.

" **What's wrong with doing what you want to do? Isn't it time that you finally told people how you truly feel?** " Shadow Tatsumi asked curiously before placing his hands behind the back if his head and posing. " **I'm everything you wish you could be.** "

"You liar!" Tatsumi shouted.

"No, don't listen to him!" I heard Hanamura call out. I looked over my shoulder and saw that Hanamura was about to summon Jiraiya, but when he tried to move he began to slip.

"Yosuke!" Nise called out as he grabbed Hanamura's wrist, trying to save him from falling. But just like Yukiko and I, the two ended up falling as well.

"Oh no! Don't worry Sensei! Berry is coming to the rescue!" Berry squeaked as she took a step forward, only to fall and quickly slide down the floor. I suddenly got an idea and grabbed Berry's paw as she slid past me, the two of us sliding quickly down the floor closer to the two Tatsumi's.

" **Ohh, how I _hate_ girls…** " Shadow Tatsumi began as he looked over to my direction. " **So arrogant and self-centered! They cry if you get angry, they gossip behind your back, they spread nasty lies…** " Shadow Tatsumi glared at me as he walked forward towards me, as if he was saying those things to me.

" **They look at me like some… some disgusting THING and say _I'm_ a weirdo… Laughing at me, all the while!** " Shadow Tatsumi growled. I blinked twice in realization at the Shadow's glare. So Tatsumi acts the way he does to keep people away... The Shadow turned around and walked back over to the real Tatsumi.

" **'You like to sew? What a queer!'** " Shadow Tatsumi began in a derisive tone. " **'Painting is so not you.' 'But you're a guy…' 'You don't act like a guy…' 'Why aren't you manly…?'** "

"Ugh, you prick! You better shut the hell up before I..." Tatsumi began, before he groaned in pain. The Shadow grabbed Tatsumi's shoulder and pushed him around a little bit.

" **You should be strong, you should be tough, you should be manly!** " Shadow Tatsumi began as he stood up tall, letting go of Tatsumi. " **What does it mean to be 'a guy'? What does it mean to be 'manly'? Girls are so scary…** "

"Girl's aren't scary... I ain't scared of 'em!" Tatsumi scowled.

" **Men are much better… They'd never say those awful, degrading things… That why I vastly prefer men!** " Shadow Tatsumi exclaimed.

"Hell with that! What makes you think you can say that shit with my face…?!" Tatsumi shouted, his voice starting to crack. Shadow Tatsumi giggled as he looked at Tatsumi.

" **Why, you're me… and I am so you… You do know that, don't you…?** " Shadow Tatsumi chuckled.

"Like hell you are!" Tatsumi screamed.

"No, wait! Don't say it, Kanji!" Hanamura warned. But I knew it was too late.

"There is no freaking way that you're a part of me!" Tatsumi screamed. Tatsumi's Shadow started to chuckle as a dark aura began to emanate from him, quickly intensifying.

" **You're me... And there's no denying it!** " Shadow Tatsumi laughed as he became engulfed by the dark aura. I gritted my teeth as I began to get up once again, knowing that the fight was going to begin. Red, white, and purple roses suddenly filled the room as three giant figures merged from the roses. Shadow Tatsumi's appearance had changed drastically just like all the other time. Except, he was no longer alone. A large, extremely muscular humanoid Shadow stood to Shadow Tatsumi's left and right side. The humanoid Shadows were masculine in appearance and were half-black and half-white, wearing only but a pair of extremely tight white briefs. The two Shadows were flexing their muscles and posing. In between them, stood Shadow Tatsumi, who had transformed into an extremely muscular figure wearing a fundoshi. Shadow Tatsumi's new muscular form was of similar coloration to the two humanoid Shadows that stood by his side, with his human form stood situated at the top, surrounded by red roses. Thorny vines wrapped themselves around Shadow Tatsumi's beefy arms as two extremely large golden Mars signs fell from above and landed directly into the floor. Shadow Tatsumi flexed his newly gained muscles before grabbing a hold of the Mars signs and pulling them out of the floor to pose with them. I couldn't help but gasp softly at the new appearance.

" **I am a shadow…** " Shadow Tatsumi began. " **Of your true inner self…** " Tatsumi, who finally got enough energy to stand, growled.

"Alright, I'm tired of all this bullshit you're swinging!" Tatsumi shouted. His shadow laughed hysterically as he tossed the two men symbols up into the air.

" **Don't interfere!** " Shadow Tatsumi laughed as he caught the two symbols and clashed them together, causing purple electricity to shock Tatsumi; sending him backwards. I gasped softly as I felt the once squish and wet ground harden. The ground is now easy to walk on...!

"Are you okay?!" I heard Yukiko call out.

"Hang in there man!" I heard Hanamura encourage. Berry, who had been unconscious for a while as I held onto her paw, stood up; pulling me up along with her. The others walked forward to where I was, the four of us standing in a straight line while Berry stood in front.

" **I want to finally be honest with myself! And I'll get rid of anyone who tries to stop me!** " Shadow Tatsumi growled, glaring over at Yukiko and my direction. I stared back in sympathy.

"I can't believe this is how Kanji-kun really feels...!" Yukiko muttered.

"It isn't! This is just his emotions going all haywire!" Hanamura explained. I looked sternly at the shadows, a blue light surrounding me as my body began to tingle.

"Come on, let's go!" I ordered. Simultaneously, all of us summoned our persona's and directed them towards the trio. I gently grabbed Berry and walked in front of her, so that she wouldn't get hurt by what was going to happen. The two humanoid shadows got in the way of Shadow Tatsumi, causing me to stop Izanagi. Izanagi did as I say, Jiraiya stopping as well while Tomoya and Konohana Sakuya continued forward. Tomoya kicked one of the humanoid shadows.

" **Hey now, come on baby!** " the humanoid said with a less satisfied tone.

"What the hell is that?!" Nise exclaimed in surprise. Konohana Sakuya moved for the other humanoid shadow, shooting fire at it from it's wings.

" **That feels good~!** " the humanoid squealed. I flinched in surprise by his reaction.

"Oh no!" Yukiko squeaked.

"This just gets weirder..." I muttered under my breath, taking note of the humanoid shadows.

"Hey Berry, what the heck's going on?! We've got some major creepers here!" Hanamura said, his tone nervous.

"I'd be willing to bear that they're some part of Kanji's shadow!" Berry said, a bit uncertain herself. Shadow Tatsumi chuckled, probably finding our actions humorous. I glared slightly at it, silently ordering Izanagi to attack one of the humanoid shadows. Izanagi charged at one of them as I had had instructed, but the humanoid shadow gave Izanagi a big hug, tightening its grip. I flinched at the tightness that squeezed my chest, gritting my teeth.

" **Hm, nice! You're a stud~!** " the humanoid shadow cooed, causing my ear to tingle. Shaking it off, I clapped my hands together to summon another persona. A new name flooded into my mind, giving me some comfort for it came from the strength's arcana- Kou.

"Rakshasa!" I called out, causing Izanagi to disappear and become free from the humanoid's grip. A different persona, one with a horn protecting its crotch and on its head with long flowing black hair, narrow eyes, and a rather muscular body. I looked over to Hanamura and Nise, who seemed a bit surprise by my new summon.

"Hanamura! Nise-kun! Back me up on this!" I instructed. The boys looked at me and nodded, sending their persona's toward Shadow Tatsumi right after Rakshasa. One of the humanoid shadows hugged both Jiraiya and Tomoya, while the other one got Rakshasa in a choking hold. I gasped, falling to my knees, struggling to breath.

"Hitomi-chan!" Yukiko exclaimed, kneeling next to me.

" **Hold me tight~!** " the humanoid shadow squeaked. Hanamura and Nise exclaimed in nervousness, their bodies shaking. The other humanoid shadow smashed Rakshasa to the ground, causing me to fall forward to the ground, coughing. Suddenly, the ground behind me shook. I looked over my shoulder in surprise, and saw the humanoid shadow that was just holding Rakshasa behind Hanamura and Nise with a mischievous look.

" **You look yummy~! And you too~!** " the humanoid chuckled as he grabbed Hanamura and Nise's butt, causing them to squeak. The guys fell down to the ground, their faces pale and a little purple.

"That shadow's toxic! he totally broke their spirits in half!" Berry squeaked, beginning to panic.

"This... This is what I was afraid of..." I muttered, regulating my breathing as Yukiko helped me stand up.

"It's okay! The shadow's aren't interested in us... I think" Yukiko said, uncertainly. We glanced over to the humanoid shadow that had just toxicities Hanamura and Nise as he scoffed at the sight of Yukiko.

"You talking to me...?" Yukiko squeaked, taking a step closer to me in hopes that I could hider. That didn't really work out since she was taller than me.

" **You don't look good in red** " the humanoid shadow scoffed.

"WHAT?!" Yukiko screeched, causing me to jump in surprise. Konohana Sakuya suddenly began shooting rapid fire pillars at the humanoid shadow, causing him to practically moan in pleasure.

" **Keep it coming!** " the humanoid shadow chuckled, looking just fine. That must be the same one from earlier hat had no effect from Yukiko's fire... I wonder if the other humanoid shadow is weak to it instead? Suddenly, I felt a pair of eyes staring at me from behind. I glanced over to the left behind me and saw the other humanoid shadow staring at me. I stared at it, showing it that I wasn't afraid of him. The humanoid suddenly smiled and patted my head, causing me to blink nervously.

" **Cute with just the right features! Such a shame that you're a woman** " the humanoid said. I blinked nervously, not moving.

"Um... I'm sorry?" I apologized, unsure of how to deal with this. The humanoid shadow smirked and suddenly grabbed my entire head, throwing me across the room in the direction of Kanji and his shadow. I landed on my face first, intense pain starting from my nose spread to the rest of my face.

"Sensei!" I heard Berry scream with a worried tone, her voice sounding distant for me.

3rd POV  
Shadow Tatsumi laughed happily at the sight of Hitomi laying motionless in front of him. There was something about Hitomi that annoyed the Shadow to no end. It was her face. It reminded the Shadow far too much of what his _"fake"_ self was like, having only a few expressions at hand while bottling up everything inside. He was certain that beneath that blank face of hers, she was terrified. Nothing would bring him more joy than to hear her true, cold, disgusting, scary voice scream in pain.

" **Well now, they weren't any trouble at all!** " Shadow Tatsumi laughed, his expression turning evil as he glared at Hitomi, raising his arms slowly into the sky.

" **What a JOKE!** " Shadow Tatsumi laughed, twirling the men symbols before slamming them down onto the ground. Blue electricity started covering the floor, crackling intensely as it shocked the whole group, their screams echoing in the room. Yosuke and Nise, who were still poisoned, recovered from the poison once the electricity hit them. Yukiko, who was enraged and not thinking straight, snapped out of her anger once the electricity hit her. Berry was also hit by the lightening as well, causing her to tear up in pain. Hitomi on the other hand simply braced the pain, as she slowly got up, her vision and hearing becoming distant and blurry. Hitomi blinked a few times, confused as to why her vision was blurry until she realized it. Her glasses had broke when she hit the ground and were now sitting in half right before her. She noticed that there was a small blob of red on top and around her glasses, causing her to touch it. A drop fell onto her hand as she did so, making her realize that her nose was bleeding.

" **I love the screams~! They make me so happy!** " Shadow Kanji giggled, hugging himself a little more tightly than before. Shadow Kanji noticed the real Kanji laying on the floor, causing the Shadow to become annoyed. Predicting what was about to happen, Hitomi decided that now was a good chance as ever to summon Izanagi.

" **But you are an eyesore!** " Shadow Kanji growled, slamming the men symbols on the ground to Kanji's direction. But before the lightening could hit Kanji, Hitomi and Izanagi blocked it, their backs facing the Shadow. Kanji, who had fallen unconscious, slowly opened his eyes, noticing a shadow and lots of purple lights. Kanji looked up, and saw Hitomi and Izanagi blocking the lightening from him, the blood from Hitomi's nose dripping more frequently as she suppressed her scream of pain. Kanji recognized Hitomi's silver hair, remembering her as the girl who gave him the pink knitted rabbit he had made. He found her strange because of her blank face and silver hair. He wasn't sure if she was judging him for having the pink rabbit or not and she sort of stuck with him.

Once the lightening had stopped, Izanagi disappeared in exhaustion, causing Hitomi to fall onto her hands and knees. At that moment, the pink rabbit that she had placed in her bra fell out, landing in front of Kanji and thankfully not in the pool of Hitomi's blood.

" **Daddy's... It's our last time to GET OUR GROVE ON!** " Shadow Kanji exclaimed, more electricity beginning to form, more intense than ever before. Shadow Kanji began to flex continuously, making the lightening grow more and more intense. Hitomi couldn't see the danger that she and her friends were about to be in, but she could most certainly sense it. Hitomi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, searching for the key. The conductors key.

Soon, a room began to form. A very familiar room. It was the Velvet room, where Igor and Margret calmly sat in.

"I've been waiting for you" Igor chuckle, opening his eyes. Margret opened her eyes and looked at Hitomi, a small smile on her face.

"The time has finally come. Prepare yourself" Margret began. "For you're about to awaken your wild cards true power." Hitomi nodded, understanding that what was about to happen might do her harm. Igor's wide grin became even wider as his eyes dilated, focused completely on Hitomi. Hitomi's heart pounded, causing her breathing to hitch. She could feel it... Igor was now possessing Hitomi's body in the real world.

Hitomi's body was colored complete in the bright blue light, her body now hovering off the ground and in the air. The Magician Arcana and the Priestess Arcana descended in front of her, Hitomi's right eye beginning to glow blue. Hitomi, through Igor's movement, lifted both her arms and switched the arcana's around so that the Priestess was first and the Magician was second. By that action, Hitomi was now surrounded by a bright blue, fierce winds blowing around her; causing her hair and clothes to sway violently. Hitomi's arms starting from the side of the cards moved so that the were on the top and bottom of the cards, causing a formula similar to alchemy to form. The lightening, which Shadow Kanji had continued to intensify, was released- causing Hitomi to smash her hands together, the cards fusing together to summon a persona. In front of Hitomi formed a large reptile with 8 heads and fierce blue, glowing eyes. It went by the name of "Yamatano-Orochi", the dreadful Japanese folklore monster. At the sight of Orochi, Shadow Kanji squeaked in surprise and slight fear.

"Whoa, awesome...!" Hanamura gasped, once he saw the creature that Hitomi had summoned.

"It merged together?!" Yukiko asked under her breath, helping Nise up who was too stunned for words. Berry squealed in admiration, the respect for Hitomi growing more and more. Hitomi's heart pounded as she slowly descended to the ground, Igor leaving her body. Hitomi's face hurt a lot less than it did earlier and her nose had stopped bleeding. Unfortunately, it was stained with the blood that did spill. Hitomi extended her hand towards the three shadows, causing two of Orochi's heads to screech and wrap around the two humanoid shadows.

" **Gotta say, it's not entirely unpleasant!** " one of the shadows admitted with a red face.

" **This feels so good!** " the other shadow squealed, his face also red. The rest of Orochi's heads screeched, casting a large ice spell that easily struck Shadow Kanji.

" **O-Oh no, I-I'm so c-cold!** " Shadow Kanji whimpered. Kanji, who had finally regained most of his strength noticed something in front of him, causing him to gasp. It was the pink knitted rabbit he had made for the two kids. Hitomi, sensing that Kanji noticed the pink bunny, closed her eyes.

"You made it, right?" she asked, catching Kanji's attention. He glared a little at her, even though she wasn't look at him.

"S-So? You got a problem with that?" Kanji asked in a threatening manner. "I can make that thing and... Still be tough..." Kanji looked to the side, the painful memories from his past stinging his heart. "Tough" was a word that his father often told him. It left a bitter taste in his mouth as it came out. Hitomi opened her eyes, her once glowing eye returning to normal as she stared at the fog covered figures in front of her.

"I know. I think it's cute" Hitomi began, causing Kanji to gasp and look back at her. Hitomi slowly turned around and looked at Kanji gently. "I said it's cute." Kanji's face exploded red at Hitomi's words, his heart beginning to pound.

"C-C-Cu-Cut-C-C-Cute?!" Kanji stammered. Hitomi nodded, reassuringly.

" **Y-you think it's c-c-c-cute?!** " Shadow Kanji stuttered, just as embarrassed as the real Kanji. " **He-LO! It's super DUPER cute! I love everything cute!** " Kanji picked up the pink bunny, calming down his heart as he gripped it gently in his right hand. Kanji stood up and began to walk forward, towards his Shadow. Hitomi stepped out of the way for Kanji, stumbling a bit as the pain in her face intensified and reached to her legs.

" **You are _sooo_ persistent!** " Shadow Kanji taunted as the real one got closer to him.

"Yep, there's no denying it..." Kanji muttered.

" **Come again?** " Shadow Kanji asked. Kanji gritted his teeth as ran towards his shadow, his fist holding onto the pink bunny charging right at his shadow's stomach.

"I can't help it! I LOVE STUPID CUTE SHIT!" Kanji shouted, his fist sending a vibrating pain throughout his shadow's body; sending the Shadow flying backwards and slamming into the wall behind him. The two humanoid shadow screamed in pain and pleasure as they suddenly vanished in an explosion of red, white, and purple roses.

" **Just accept me...!** " Shadow Kanji cried out as he returned into his human like form. Nise and Yosuke screamed silently in fear, terrified that Kanji defeated his own Shadow. Kanji looked down at his fist, Hitomi's words echoing in his ears. With a soft sigh, Kanji turned around and looked over at the silver haired girl, her face still gentle but blank like when he first met her.

"Look..." Kanji began as he averted his eyes, his face starting to become red. "You made me happy... When you called what I made cute. You didn't make fun of me for it."

"Of course not. I will never make fun of someone no matter their gender, age, or personality if they are talented at what they do. And you, Tatsumi-san, are very talented at what you do" Hitomi explained, tilting her head slightly as her face became even more gentle. This caused Kanji's face to explode red like earlier and his heart to pound once again. For the first time, someone had said that he had talent. Before everything had happened, he considered himself "talented". He wanted to be "talented". He didn't want to be known as a "queer" or a "weirdo". And to hear someone else, a girl even, say that he was "talented" brought him more joy than he could ever deal with. If it was just Hitomi and Kanji alone, he would have been weak and start crying. But there were too many people in the room, so he kept a strong front. Berry ran towards Hitomi, the others following after her slowly. Berry hugged Hitomi's legs, cowering in fear as she pointed past Kanji to where the Shadow was knocked back.

"Sensei!" Berry wailed, catching everyone's attention. "The Shadow, it's still coming at us for more! It's truly un-bear-able!" Hitomi flinched at Berry's information, looking up and saw Shadow Kanji stumbling towards Kanji and the others. Kanji and the others, besides from Berry and Hitomi, gasped in shock.

"Wh-What's going on?" Nise asked, the color draining from his face.

"He's still rejecting it!" Berry explained with a squeal of fear. Hitomi stood still, calmly as she watched the glitching shadow struggle to walk. Hitomi had finally found out what Kanji was having troubles with. What his shadow was- or rather, has- expressed.

"Well, I can't blame him with this many witnesses…" Yosuke muttered, as he frowned. It was never easy for anyone to just accept their Shadows. Shadow Kanji laughed weakly as tears started to stream down his cheeks.

" **I don't care who…Won't someone, anyone, please just accept me…?** " Shadow Kanji asked, his voice cracking as he stretched his arms open and jogged towards the group. The sound of his voice made Hitomi's heart sting in sympathy and wanted to open her arms to hug him.

"I said, cut that crap out!" Kanji ordered, causing his shadow to freeze with a sad look. Kanji clicked his tongue in slight annoyance as he closed his eyes.

"Tch. Can't believe something like this is inside me. You've absolutely no idea how freakin' emberrasin' it is" Kanji sighed.

"Tatsumi-san, you aren't alone..." Hitomi whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear it. Kanji's heart skipped a beat at her words, his happiness growing even more. This short, silver haired girl was the first person in many years to treat him normally. She might have only been one person, but it was enough for Kanji. Kanji sighed once more and began to walk towards his shadow, opening his eyes and locking them with his shadow's hollow yellow orbs.

"Yeah, I know. I've known all this time I had something like you. It ain't about men or women, I'm just scared shitless of being made fun of" Kanji began, causing his Shadow to gasp softly. "I'm a total pansy who tries to make everyone hate me. You're me, and I'm you. That isn't some major revelation. Freakin' moron..."

Shadow Kanji felt so relieved… So happy. So happy to finally be accepted that he was at a loss for words. He just nodded and closed his eyes, one last tear falling from his eye. A blue light began to emit from his body until he disappeared into light. The instant he disappeared, a figure appeared before Kanji. The figure resembled a gigantic black robot with a skeletal design. It held a lightning bolt in its left hand. Even without eyes, Kanji knew that it was looking at him, breathing as it did. The group, besides from Hitomi, stared at Kanji's persona in amazement.

"Look at that, it's Kanji-kun's persona...!" Yukiko muttered, a smile on her face.

"That is definitely one macho dude" Nise whistled. After a few seconds, the figure disappeared as a glowing blue card floated gently into the open palm of Kanji's right hand.

"Persona..." Kanji muttered, the word flooding into him once the card disappeared into his being. As if tied together, Hitomi and Kanji let out a sigh and fell to their knees. Berry squeaked in worry as she held Hitomi up. Yosuke, noticing Hitomi on her knees, rushed to her side while Nise and Yukiko rushed over to Kanji's side.

"Kanji-kun!" Yukiko exclaimed, kneeling down to Kanji's right as Nise kneeled down to his left.

"Hey, you good?" Nise asked, worried for Kanji. Kanji chuckled as he opened his fist that held onto the pink knitted bunny. Before, Kanji would stare at his creations with uncertainty- worried that if people who find out that he made it would start making fun of him again. But now, he can gaze at his creations with genuine happiness and dignity.

"Let's get outta here. Kanji is exhausted, and Narukami-chan is in pretty bad shape" Yosuke instructed as he helped Hitomi up, his arm wrapped around her waist as one of her arms warped around his shoulders. Nise, Yukiko, and Kanji all looked over their shoulders, noticing Hitomi's condition. Thankfully, she wasn't unconscious, but she just didn't have any strength to walk- much similar to Kanji's condition.

"Hitomi-chan, you're bleeding!" Yukiko pointed out, noticing the dried blood on Hitomi's face. Hitomi shook her head in disagreement as Nise helped Kanji up while Yukiko rushed over to Hitomi, Yosuke, and Berry.

"I'm fine... I just got a bit of a nose bleed when I smashed my face to the ground earlier" Hitomi explained. Everyone except for Berry and Kanji winced, thinking about the pain Hitomi had experienced.

"Hey, what happened to your glasses?" Nise asked as he dragged Kanji, much similar to how Yosuke was holding Hitomi. Hitomi pointed over to where she landed, causing Berry to run over to where the broken glasses were. Yosuke sighed as he looked at Hitomi with a worried and stern expression.

"You're always getting yourself hurt when we come here, Narukami-chan!" Yosuke scolded lightly. Hitomi nodded, giving an apologetic look.

"Sorry..." she whispered, causing Yosuke's heart to skip a beat and blush a little. Yosuke sigh once again and began to walk.

"Whatever, just promise you'll try to take better care of yourself? This is, like, the second time I've had had to carry your ass outta here" Yosuke scoffed, teasingly. Hitomi nodded, that warm feeling and strange tickle in her throat returning to her. The group walked slowly back to the entrance of the T.V world, where they climbed out of and returned to the real world.

* * *

Hitomi's POV

"Let me know if it hurts" Yukiko said softly, as she kneelt down in front of me. I nodded and slightly braced myself for the small pain that I was about to get. Yukiko, using her handkerchief that she had brought with her in her bag as well as a first aid kit, gently patted underneath my nose to clean the dried blood. I winced as she patted my bottom lip. It was probably bruised.

"Sorry" Yukiko said with an apologetic look, not stopping.

"Hey, Kanji... Are you okay?" I heard Hanamura ask. I glanced over to the left where Tatsumi sat in front of the television like me, Hanamura and Nise watching over him.

"It's... It's nothin'..." Tatsumi replied confidently, only to wince and roan a second later. The next thing I knew, Tatsumi began to chuckle.

"Man, I feel great...! It's like my mind's all cleared up!" Tatsumi said with a smile, causing Nise and Hanamura to blink in surprise. Hanamura laughed a little as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Glad to hear it!" Hanamura chuckled. Nise smiled a little as he offered his hand, which Tatsumi gratefully accepted. Nise pulled Tatsumi up, Tatsumi nodding a thank you.

"Hey... About what just happened..." Tatsumi began. Hanamura nodded, looking serious.

"Don't worry, we'll tell you everything later once you rest up. We'll wait for you at school" Hanamura instructed.

"School...? Sure, if I ever feel like going" Tatsumi replied, bluntly. Hanamura laughed nervously, uncrossing his arms.

"Alright, well; I'm gonna take this guy home" Hanamura said as he looked at Nise. "If anyone asks, I'll just say I found him somewhere like this."

"Should we take Hitomi-chan home?" Yukiko asked, catching the guys attention. I glanced back over to her just as she finished cleaning my face.

"It's fine, I can walk home by myself" I reassured, slowly standing up. Yukiko stood up, a worried look on her face.

"Are you sure? You've gotten hurt pretty badly..." Yukiko said, her voice filled with concern and worry. I nodded in reply before looking over to Hanamura.

"This is off subject, but while I'm here I think I'll buy dinner for Nanako. Is there anything on sale?" I asked. Hanamura smiled and winked, giving me a thumbs up.

"Hey, why don't you just go and buy whatever you want! Go ahead and put it on my tab, 'kay?" Hanamura replied, his smile widening. Before I could even reject his offer, he patted Kanji on the back and the two started to walk away, Hanamura snatching his bag as he passed by it. I looked over to Yukiko and Nise, giving them a firm nod.

"It's been a long day. You guys go home and get's some rest" I instructed. Yukiko hesitated for a moment, looking still concerned for me, but thankfully Nise was able to make her move and the two of them left. Once the aisle was empty, nothing but songs from the television being played echoed in the room, I let out a long sigh. Today has been a long day indeed... If it weren't for Yukiko, I probably would have gotten a nasty scolding from Dojima. I shivered at the thought of being scolded and let out a shuddered sigh. I walked over to where my bag was, picked it up and made my way over to department section.

After I had finished shopping for dinner, I slowly walked towards the main exit. I was rather slow because of my lack of strength making it difficult to carry the bags of store bought food as well as guilt. I had told myself while waiting in line to purchase the food not to put anything on Hanamura's tab like he had suggested. But in the end, I had to put at least 200 yen on his tab because I was short on cash. As I walked closer to the entrance, I noticed that a very familiar man was staring out into space out the window. I stopped in my tracks, trying to recall who he was. I blinked twice in surprise when I remembered him to be Adachi, Dojima's unlucky partner. Curious, I walked over to Adachi.

"Good evening," I greeted softly, so not to startle him. Adachi blinked in surprise by my greeting and turned around to look at me. He blinked twice in surprise at my appearance.

"Oh, it's you," he began, a small smile forming. "What's the matter? Can I help you?"

"Um, well... I saw you standing here and was wondering if you were alright. You were staring out into space" I explained. A soft blush covered his cheeks as his smile grew a bit wider.

"Ah, is that so?" Adachi began, chuckling. "Everything's fine! I'm just working as hard as ever!" I blinked in confusion, glancing back and forth between Adachi and the window.

"Are you working on the window...?" I asked, not fully paying attention to my words due to my exhaustion. Adachi froze for a split second before he began to laugh, causing me to flinch slightly in surprise and blush in embarrassment.

"No, of course not!" Adachi began, wiping tears that had formed in his eyes from laughing. "It's easy to investigate here with all the people around. It's cool in the summer, and warm in the winter. It's a pretty good place to…" Adachi suddenly cut himself off as his face paled a little bit.

"Oops! Yeah, I think I've said enough!" Adachi chuckled nervously. I stared at Adachi for a little bit, a voice in the back of my head telling me that he was slacking off work. But I was too tired to pay it any mind.

"Oh hey, is everything okay with you? Your uniform looks in pretty bad shape" Adachi suddenly asked, his eyes staring at not my face by my body. I looked down at my clothes, noticing the tares, slime stains from earlier, and the filth that was on it.

"Ah... I guess you can say I'm a bit clumsy. I usually get bruises, scratches, and cuts on a daily basis" I replied as I looked back up at Adachi. He looked back up at me as well, his eyes slightly wide with raised eyebrows.

"Hey, that's not a good thing you know. You have to take better care of yourself" Adachi scolded gently. I nodded obediently in reply. Adachi smiled and patted my head with a chuckle.

"Say, while you're here, why don't we talk for a bit?" Adachi suggested, his hand sliding off my head, stroking my cheek and shoulder before returning to Adachi's side. I shiver went down my spine from Adachi's actions, but to be polite I didn't show it and nodded.

"Alright, if you don't mind" I replied, gripping the bag of food I had bought with both of my hands in front of me. Adachi smiled and looked out the window, a strange smile on his face. It looked rather... Fake, I suppose.

"It's tough to do that out here in the sticks, isn't it?" Adachi began. "There's nothing here. It's not like the city at all." I nodded slowly, understanding his reasons.

"I suppose so. There certainly are a limited amount of options to do, unlike the city" I agreed. Adachi looked at me and smiled brightly, approving my answer.

"I knew you'd understand! You're from the city too, right?" Adachi asked. I nodded in reply. Adachi grimaced a little as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Wanna know something? Get this— my first assignment here was tracking down a cat. My suit got so dirty…and they wouldn't let me expense the dry cleaning bill!" Adachi began, sighing. "Next, I played peacemaker in a spat some married couple was having. I can't believe they've got the police doing that stuff." I nodded occasionally as he spoke, fully understanding now why he might not like this town. It wasn't bad, but for people who were originally from the city might have a hard time adapting with the country life, much similar to Hanamura's story.

"But it's been more dangerous lately, so I can't kick back" Adachi continued, his gaze returning to my clothes. "There's that one case, you know? It's still not solved yet. The higher-ups don't know what to do. They keep changing procedure on the fly…" I blinked in surprise, unsure of what Adachi was talking about. Adachi gasped softly, cutting himself off.

"Oops! I hope I'm not making you nervous. You guys have nothing to worry about, you know. Us police are on the job!" Adachi chuckled nervously, as he ruffled my hair. Thankfully this time, he didn't stroke my cheek after ruffling my hair. He seems to care a little bit about me. I think I understand him a bit more… Suddenly, Adachi's phone rang. Adachi pulled out his cell phone, which was a flip phone, and gasped as he stared at his phone.

"Oh crap, it's Dojima-san...!" Adachi muttered under his breath. He answered his phone and began the conversation with a simple, "Hello?"

"Ah, hey Dojima-san! ...What? ...Oh, really? ...So then you'll be leaving early today? ...What?! But I...! ...Yes sir..." Adachi said, continuing his side of the call. Adachi suddenly glanced over to me, before glancing back forward out the window. "Oh, you know what? I actually saw your niece a little while ago coming out of Junes. It looks like she bought dinner... Huh? ...Wait, wh-why are you getting mad? ...N-No, I...! ...What?! ...Ugh, yes sir..." With a long, defeated sigh, Adachi hung up and put his cell phone back into his pocket. I blinked nervously in concern, a little worried about Adachi.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, catching Adachi's attention. A faint blush tinged his cheeks as he smiled at me.

"Everything's fine!" Adachi began, trying to sound cheerful. But I could hear a bit of frustration in his tone. "Dojima-san just called and said that a boy who has been missing recently has returned home. He'll be leaving work early today, so feel free to pass the message onto Nanako-chan." I nodded obediently when Adachi suddenly sighed.

"Though now I have to work a little late than usual, a mountain of paperwork calling for me" Adachi sighed with a frown. Hesitantly, I reached out to pat him on the arm, but stopped myself halfway and placed my hand over to my chest.

"Hang in there, Adachi-san! I'm rooting for you" I encouraged, causing Adachi to look at me surprised with red cheeks. He smiled warmly, nodding. After that, he encouraged me to go home before it got dark as he left to get to work.

* * *

 _ **Evening...**_

It was rather late into the evening, the Dojima's and I eating dinner in a comfortable silence. When Dojima had gotten home, not that long after me, he asked me a few questions in regards to Adachi. Not wanting him to get in trouble, I played along with Adachi's story from his phone. I felt a little bad though, since I was lying to not only a relative but also a detective. After I had told Dojima what I "did" today after school, Dojima told me to lecture Adachi if I ever saw him at Junes because apparently, he likes to slack off there.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you" Dojima began, catching my attention. "Remember that Kanji Tatsumi guy I told you about? You know, the one who went nuts on that news special" I nodded in reply. "Well, his family's shop called in to report him missing, but now he's been found. I thought I'd let you know since you go to the same high school." I blinked twice before nodding.

"Thank you, I'm glad to hear that" I replied.

"Yeah" Dojima replied with a nod. I turned my attention back over to my food and continued eating.

"One other thing…" Dojima began, catching my attention once again. "Some people have seen you around that textile shop lately, I hear. It's not the kind of shop students normally visit. Just what kind of business did you have there…?" I blinked in surprise, a little confused at the fact that people had reported me being around the textile shop. I quickly thought of a lie that would make sense as well as have some truth in it.

"Well you see, one of my friends had some business there for their family... I hadn't been to the textile shop before and decided to go with them. Now I know where to go if my uniform becomes too worn for wear" I explained, looking down at my pajama's that I had changed into so that I could wash my uniform. Once I was done, I bit my inner cheek as punishment for lying to Dojima. I had done more than enough lying for my lifetime. That last thing I expected when I was told that I was going to live here was that I would have to do some more lying. Dojima stayed quite for a moment, staring at me.

"Fine..." Dojima sighed, his eyes looking a bit concerned. "Just don't get yourself in over your head, okay?" I nodded obediently in reply.

"...Are you fighting again?" Nanako asked, catching Dojima and my attention. Dojima laughed nervously as he tried to explain to Nanako that we weren't fighting at all. She seemed rather displeased when he said that we were having "grown-up talk". But thankful, she accepted his explanation and continued to eat her food. Today's dinner was rather festive.


	13. Awaiting Kanji

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a woman with platinum-blonde hair. She quickly recognized this place as the Velvet Room. But something was amiss. Igor, a man with an unusual long noise who would usually greet her, was nowhere to be seen.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" the platinum-blonde haired woman next to him, known as Margaret, greeted. She looked over at Hitomi with her usual blank look.

"Now, I'm afraid the master is away today..." Margaret began. She smiled gently and continued, "But perhaps, you intentionally came by while he was out." Hitomi didn't know how to answer, since it was usually Igor who summons her in her dreams. If Igor was gone, then perhaps she did come of her own accord. But as to how remained a mystery to Hitomi.

"I see you have obtained several Arcana's. The Emperor and the Jester" Margaret said, catching Hitomi's attention. Two cards, one showing a silhouette of a European medieval jester while another was a silhouette of a large figured men dressed like a king, descended in front of Margaret; dissolving into the old tome on her lap. The tome grew a light blue, as if becoming one with the card, and Margaret opened it up. There, on one of the pages was a moving picture of Hitomi talking with Adachi wile on the other was the time when Hitomi had called Kanji's work cute. Margaret's eyes narrowed as she looked seriously over to Hitomi.

"I must warn you; the Jester arcana is not to be taken lightly" Margaret began. "While I would usually encourage you to pressure to strengthen your bonds, this one I ask for you to proceed with extreme caution." Hitomi blinked in surprise. Confused as to why Margret would warn her about Adachi. But through her confusion, Hitomi could feel Margaret's concern for her.

Suddenly, a new card with vines connecting to a visible silhouette, a small crown hovering on top of the vile descended into Margaret's tome; causing the pages to flip by themselves. Hitomi and Margaret blinked in surprise as the new pages on the tome showed a picture of Margaret and Hitomi talking. Hitomi looked up to Margaret, rather surprised that she had created a bond with her. Margaret blushed in embarrassment as she cleared her throat, closing her eyes.

"Well then, it is time for us to bid farewell" Margaret said, causing a warm feeling to wash over Hitomi. Soon, Hitomi's consciousness began to fade as the room slowly began to be engulfed by darkness.

* * *

 ** _Thursday, May 19th_**

I yawned softly, covering my mouth as I did so, slowly walking to school. Yesterday was exhausting and with Dojima coming home early, I couldn't go to bed early. Today, I was especially tired.

"Hey, Narukami-chan!" I heard a familiar voice call out. I looked over my shoulder and saw Hanamura running over to me. Once Hanamura had caught up to me, walking in sync with me I nodded.

"Good morning, Hanamura" I greeted. Hanamura smiled and nodded.

"So hey, how're ya feeling? Did you get a lot of sleep?" Hanamura asked, his smile turning into a concerned frowned. I shook my head, looking forward.

"My uncle came home early last night because Tatsumi-san returned. We talked for a bit, so I didn't go straight to bed" I explained.

"That's not good" Hanamura sighed, causing me to look over to him. Hanamura smiled brightly and pointed at himself.

"Hey, if you want, _I_ can write some notes for you while you nap in class!" Hanamura suggested. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, blinking twice at his suggestion as sweat rolled down my jaw.

"That's very sweet of you, Hanamura. But are you sure you'll be able to stay up through a class?" I asked, causing Hanamura to freeze as his face paled slightly. Hanamura then groaned as his head fell limp.

"You got a point there..." Hanamura sighed weakly. I patted his back, reassuringly. It was a sweet gesture like I said, but there was no way Hanamura could stay awake for _each_ one of our classes. For some reason, as Hanamura's words echoed again in my ear with his bright smile flashing into my mind, I felt my heart skip a beat and my face heat up lightly. Was I getting sick?

* * *

 ** ** _Lunchtime..._****

It was lunch time now, the students leaving with glee to eat. As usual, Nise- dragging Yukiko along- dashed out the door to eat. Hanamura, who would usually be right behind him, stayed behind and talked with me. We talked over small things, like what to eat for lunch, and how Tatsumi was doing. After a moment, a female student barged into the classroom and exclaimed, "Hey, everyone! They posted the test results!"

"Argh…The awful moment of truth…" Hanamura groaned, making a face.

"Wanna check it out?" I suggested.

"Might as well see the damage," Hanamura sighed. "Let's go." We stood up from our seats and headed down stairs.

When Hanamura and I arrived at the first floor, we saw that students were gathered around the bulletin board. I noticed that Kou and Chou were there too, talking happily as usual. Though, Kou's eyes seemed to be mainly focused on Nise, who was in the front of the crowd. Nise was looking excited, tears of joy falling down his face as some sort of bread stuck out of his mouth. Noticing us, Nise waved happily, making room for us to get where he and Yukiko was in the crowd.

"Narukami-chan, guess what?! I actually did better than I thought I would!" Nise cheered, removing the bread from his mouth. He seems very ecstatic. I felt a warm feeling wash over me at Nise's happiness and nodded.

"It's good to hear you did well, Nise-kun" I replied. Nise laughed, nodding his head violently.

"So how did you do?" Yukiko asked, catching my attention. I shrugged and turned my attention to the list of scores. I blinked in surprise, seeing that I had scored in the top ten. My name was even not that far below Yukiko's name.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Narukami-chan scored number six!" Nise exclaimed as he pointed at where my name was, causing Kou and Chou to exclaim as well, making their way towards us.

"Wow! Nice going, Narukami-chan!" Hanamura laughed, patting my head.

"You're so smart…" Hanamura trailed off, muttering other things that I couldn't hear. I blinked nervously as I found myself being congratulated by my friends. Kou said that it needed a celebration and invited me to eat lunch with her and Chou in the lunch room. I didn't know what to say, since I usually ate bread and would then head back to the classroom to fix my notes. But then Yukiko, Nise, Hanamura, and even Chou encouraged it. With so many people insisting me to eat with them in the cafeteria, I couldn't help but surrender in defeat. I noticed that as everyone walked together towards the cafeteria- me in the middle- other students were whispering among themselves.

* * *

 ** _After School..._**

I packed my things a bit more slowly than I would have on a normal day, possibly because of how tired I was today. By the time I was ready to leave, only five classmates from my classroom was left. With a small sigh, I walked out, ready to go home and take a nap.

Once I left my classroom, I noticed three girls with sports bags crying next to the stairway, students passing them by with confused looks. Confused and a bit worried about the girls, I walked over to them.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" I asked, catching the trio's attention. I noticed that the three girls all had their hair up into buns, two of them with black hair while one had light brown hair. They all looked rather slim, like models.

"Oh... Aren't you the transfer student? Hitomi Narukami, from class 2-2, right?" the girl with the light brown hair asked. I nodded to confirmed.

"Is everything alright? Why are you crying?" I asked, as the two black haired girls wiped their tears away, the light brown haired girl sniffling.

"Well, you see..." the light brown haired girl began. "The three of us go to this fitness center in Okina City" one of the black haired girls continued. "Just the other day, we weighed ourselves and found out that we met our goals!" the other black haired girl finished.

"So we decided to celebrate and eat some snacks. But yesterday, we weighed ourselves again and saw that we had gained _more_ weight than we had _lost_!" the light brown haired girl exclaimed, tears falling down her face once again.

"Now, we're too ashamed to go back to the fitness center!" the three girls wailed at once, all of them starting to cry once again.

"Shiroku store is our enemy...! No matter how many times we try channel our mental energy in order to control our urges to shun the snacks, it always fails! But this is the only time we've ever gained more than we had lost!" the black haired girl wept.

"You understand, don't you Narukami-san? After all, snacks are the essence of women" the light brown haired girl asked, her tears falling as she looked at me. I blinked nervously as I rubbed the back of my neck.

"'Essence of a woman'...? Well, uh... I don't usually tend to buy snacks since I have a limited amount of money" I explained weakly.

"B-But when someone offers them to me, I have a heard time saying no" I quickly added, not wanting the trio to feel even worse.

"Wow, you have a firm snack soul Narukami-san" one of the black haired girls sniffled. "Snack soul"? Are they really going to a fitness center or are they in some sort of occult? Either way, I couldn't stand watching them cry. I didn't know these girls, but I didn't like seeing them this upset.

"Well, is there any way I can help?" I asked, causing the girls to look at me with wide, tearful eyes.

"Huh? You want to help us?" the light brown haired girl asked. I nodded in reply. The trio exclaimed in surprise, smiles forming on their faces.

"Wow, you're so nice Narukami-san!" the trio said in sync, causing me to blink in surprise. These three must be _really_ close.

"All we need is something to make us hate snacks" one of the black haired girls explained. I nodded slowly, trying to think of something. Is there anyone I know who really likes food? After a moment, I blinked in realization as someone popped into my mind. Nise.

"I have an idea! Please wait here for me until I come back" I instructed, looking up at the girls. They nodded, grateful but confused smiles on their faces. I turned around towards the stairs going up and quickly jogged up it. I remember hearing from Kou that Nise likes to go to the roof sometimes after school. I just hope that he's there...!

After climbing two flights of stairs, I opened the door to the room, the bright sun shining in my eyes as a gentle breeze blew; tickling my skin. I looked around and saw Nise laying down over at the corner where our group meets sometimes, his backpack being used as a pillow. I walked over to him as he sighed in satisfaction, raising one leg and crossing them on top of the other.

"Nise-kun!" I called out, causing Nise to sit up in surprise with a small scream. He looked over to me with one hand over his heart.

"Oh, Narukami-chan! You scared me!" Nise panted. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

"Sorry..." I apologized, feeling guilty. Nise let out a sigh, turning his body towards me.

"Nah, it's cool..." Nise sighed, his feet touching the ground. I tilted my head slightly in confusion.

"Say, what do you do up here Nise-kun?" I asked, a little bit curious. Nise looked up at me and smiled.

"Hm? Oh, well I usually come up here to nap when the weather's good! It don't matter what season, if the suns out; I can sleep up here in peace" Nise explained happily, as if proud of himself. I blinked in surprise, wondering it that is necessarily a good thing.

"Anyways, what's up?" Nise asked. I grabbed my bag with both of my hands in front of me.

"I was wondering if you knew any unusual tasting snack" I explained. Nise blinked in surprise, before waving his right hand in front of his face, telling me I had said something incorrect.

"There's no such thing as 'unusual tasting' snacks, Narukami-chan! Snacks are snack!" Nise said with a wink. I fumed, wondering then how I should word my question.

"Well, in that case... Do you have any snacks that not a lot of people like?" I asked slowly, wording my question carefully. Nise smiled sadly as he nodded.

"Yeah, actually I do. It kinda makes me sad that no one likes 'em" Nise said with a slightly disappointed tone, grabbing his backpack. He opened a small pocket and pulled out three pieces of something small and rectangular wrapped in white wrapping. I took the three pieces from him, blinking in curiosity.

"What is this?" I asked.

"They're called 'Meat Gum'! Everyone I try to offer it to say that it's gross. It just breaks my poor, snack loving heart..." Nise sighed. I gently gripped onto the meat gum and brought it close to my chest.

"I'm sure it's good in it's own way. Anyway, thank you Nise-kun!" I said, bowing a little. Nise chuckled softly, patting my head. With that, I left Nise behind and jogged back downstairs to where the trio stayed like I had instructed.

When I had returned, three girls were waiting nervously at the bottom of the stairs just like I had left them, their faces no longer wet with tears. As I approached them, they smiled happily at my return.

"You're back!" the light browned girl exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes. I nodded and extended my hand with the meat gum in it. When I opened my mouth to tell them what it was, I noticed that the three girls were looking intently at the meat gum, a dark aura surrounding them as they sniffed the air. I froze in slight fear at the demonic looks on their faces.

"Is this... the rumored Meat Gum?!" the dark girls asked at the same time, their eyes never leaving the snacks in my hand. I blinked nervously in surprise and fear, sweat rolling down my jaw.

"Um, yes... H-How did you know?" I asked, trying hard to calm my nerves. The girls gulped loudly as they began to sweat.

"It smells juicy, raw, and yet sweet. Commercials say that it's like a bomb of flavor in your mouth" the light brown haired girl explained. After a moment, the girls took a piece, removing the wrapper with trembling hands. They all exchanged glances before nodding and shoving the pieces of brown rectangles in their mouths. They chew viciously, their face dripping with nervous sweat.

"Urp!" the trio said at the same time, their faces turning pale as they covered their mouths. I took a step back in worry that they would vomit. The girls, tears welling up in their eyes, chewed more slowly as if in pain before swallowing the meat gum. The girls gaged a bit before they wiped the tears from their eyes.

"Wh-What is this?! It's _chewy meat_!" the light brown haired girl muttered as more tears welled up in her eyes. I blinked in surprise as sweat rolled down my jaw. Of _course_ Nise would have something like that with him.

"This is also considered a snack!? The world of snacks is indeed vast and infinite" the black haired girls said at the same time. I blinked in realization, taking a step forward.

"Well, when you think of 'snack' now, you'll probably think of that flavor right?" I asked, causing the girls to look at me in surprise. They then looked at each other for a moment before their faces light up in joy.

"You're right, Narukami-san! Now we won't have to linger in front of the Shiroku Store anymore!" the light brown haired girl cheered, the black haired girls laughing happily. I felt a warm feeling wash over me as I watched them all laugh. The girls said goodbye and jogged happily down the stairs to the first floor, hoping that they can still catch the train for Okina City. As they left, I could hear them happily say nice things about me. Once their voices disappeared, I sighed silently and began to walk down the stairs as well.

Once I reached the first floor, I noticed that there was a black haired boy in front of my locker, staring intently at it with a red face. Confused I walked up to him.

"Excuse me..." I muttered, causing the boy to jump at my voice at twirl around.

"W-What?" the boy began, before blinking in realization as his red face returned to normal. "Oh, you're the transfer student, Hitomi..." My eyes widened slightly in surprise, taken back by the boy's formality towards me. Hesitantly, I nodded in reply. The boy suddenly blinked in surprise, raising an eyebrow.

"Hitomi...?" the boy muttered. I couldn't help but blush a little bit in discomfort, not appreciating this boy calling me by my first name. The boy suddenly gasped, his face turning red as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Shit, I-I made a mistake! This is _your_ shoe box!" the boy exclaimed. Before I could react, the boy turned around and left the school, running at incredible speeds. I stared at the direction he ran at in confusion, tilting my head. That was most certainly strange. I shook my head, turning my attention over to my locker. Once I opened it, I saw a note sitting on top of my shoes. Confused, I picked it up. I noticed that the writing was very gentle, but too muscular to be written by a girl.

 _Excuse me for writing this to you out of the blue. I held my emotions back all this time because I didn't want to disrupt studies, but I just had to tell you...  
I love you!_

I blinked rapidly in surprise by the moving love note, finding myself blushing. Someone who I didn't know signed it... I turned the note over and saw an unfamiliar name at the top right hand corner, "Hinami Yoko". My face cooled down at the name, realizing that it wasn't meant for me. I looked up towards where that boy ran. I wonder if the boy put this in the wrong shoe box? I felt sorry for the guy and switched the love note with my shoes. Until I can clear this up, I'll keep the letter in here. Once I put on my outdoor shoes and put my indoor shoes in side my locker, I began to walk home.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

I got home rather early, even earlier than Nanako and decided to take a nap. I was asleep for about an hour until Nanako came home, waking me up. She apologized for doing so and told me to go back to sleep, giving me a blanket all the while. I thanked her and also apologies but she said it was fine. I slept for three hours, according to Nanako. Now, I had just finished my homework at the kitchen table. I stretched in satisfaction, noticing that Nanako paced back and forth relentlessly. After a bit, Nanako sighed heavily with a pout.

"Daddy's late again today..." Nanako muttered as she looked out the door. I felt my heart sting in sympathy. Suddenly, the phone rang. Nanako walked over and answered it.

"Hello, Dojima residence" Nanako began. Her face suddenly beamed as the conversation continued, "Dad! Huh… Really?! Okay… Okay, I understand." Nanako smiled widely as she hum up, turning her attention to me.

"Dad's coming home now! We need to get dinner ready!" Nanako explained with a giggle. I nodded, gathering my things to put them away temporarily. I walked over to the dining table and placed my things there as Nanako laughed happily, opening the fridge. When I turned around and walked over to Nanako, who was staring at the fridge. I noticed that something was wrong when Nanako slowly closed the fridge door.

"What is it, Mimi?" I asked.

"We're out of pickled radish…" Nanako whined softly as she looked at me. "Daddy'll be disappointed…" I blinked sadly at her, not liking to see Nanako so sad. I knelt down to match her height and gave her a gentle look.

"Well then, let's go buy some together" I suggested. Nanako gasped as she blushed, surprised at my suggestion.

"Really?!" Nanako exclaimed, a smile forming on her face. I nodded in reply.

"Thanks, Big Sis!" Nanako giggled. I patted her head as I stood up. Thankfully, I hadn't changed yet. I walked over to my bag and rustled through it's contents, looking for my wallet and spare house key. I was running low on money, but I should have enough to buy some pickled radishes. Once I found my wallet and key, I put my shoes on next to Nanako who was practically beaming in joy. Once both of our shoes were on, I locked the door behind us, and then Nanako grabbed my hand and lead me towards Junes.

"We're going shopping together!" Nanako cheered. the most sweetest, fuzziest feeling washed over me at this as I blushed. Mimi was simply adorable. I feel like I'm growing closer to Mimi…

When we reached Junes, we had no trouble finding a really inexpensive pickled radish for Dojima. Thankfully, we didn't run into Hanamura, who would have offered to pay for the vegetables if he heard what we were doing there. I was already feeling guilty for putting 200 yen in his tab, I don't need to feel even more guilty. When Nanako and I had returned, we saw Dojima's car parked underneath the cover. Seeing the car, Nanako laughed happily and rushed inside the house once I unlocked the door.

"Daddy! Welcome home!" Nanako cheered at the sight of Dojima. I walked up to Nanako, stopping behind her when I noticed a rather expressionless look on Dojima's face. Is he angry?

"Where did you go at this time of night?" Dojima asked in a rather stern tone. I blinked nervously at his tone. He really is angry...

"Oh, uh…Junes…" Nanako replied, weakly. She must have realized that Dojima seems upset.

"Didn't I tell you not to go outside this late?" Dojima sighed, raising his voice a little.

"B-But, you were coming home…so I…" Nanako tried her best to explain herself, but I could tell that Dojima wasn't listening.

"No matter what your reason was, rules are rules," Dojima said insistently. "You promised me, remember?" Nanako looked down at the ground. My heart stung in pity for poor Nanako. Even though I was a little nervous of Dojima and didn't want to upset him anymore than he already is, but I didn't want Nanako to be sad.

"It's not Nanako's fault," I said, patting Nanako's head. Thankfully, I was able to say it without wavering. I felt Nanako look up, causing me to look down at her.

"Big Sis…" Nanako muttered, look relieved but sad. "…It's not my fault? Then why is Dad angry…? Why won't he listen…?"I blinked in surprise, not knowing what to say to that. When Mimi was Nanako's age... She was never told no. Especially since it was after the incident. Me on the other hand... I was always said no. They would often say it was because I was the eldest. Nanako is an only child... So that reason doesn't work on this.

"Daddy's stupid…! Stupid, stupid!" Nanako exclaimed, clenching her fists before running to her room. Dojima stood up and hesitated to follow Nanako.

"Nanako!" Dojima called out. "How dare you call your father stupid!" I put my hands up to try and calm down Dojima down. I explained to him why we had went to Junes.

"Pickled radish… for me…?" Dojima asked, looking a bit awkward. I nodded in reply.

"Is that so…" Dojima sighed. He shook his head and continued, "But I still can't allow kids to be walking around this late at night. You, of all people, should know how dangerous it's been lately." I flinched at Dojima's tone, closing my eyes.

"You shouldn't be wandering around out there at night either…" Dojima's continued, his tone a bit softer. I opened my eyes and looked up at Dojima. His expression has softened as he looked at me. "Please be more careful…" Surprised, I looked down and nodded obediently. With that, Dojima ordered me to go to bed while he put the radishes away.

* * *

 ** _Friday, May 20th_ | _Early Morning..._**

I yawned softly as I walked down the stairs, fixing my hair with my fingers. I felt very refreshed today, thank to my nap yesterday. I felt as if I had been given burst of energy from those girls I helped out as a token of their gratitude. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw that Nanako was making some sort of egg sandwich. She probably didn't wake up early enough to make a real breakfast meal.

"Good morning" Nanako greeted, noticing my presences.

"Good morning, Nanako" I greeted, walking towards the table. Nanako took out a butter knife and began to cut the egg sandwich in half, diagonally. Watching her do this confirmed me that she really didn't wake up early enough. When I walked towards the table, I noticed an envelope with my name on it waiting for me. Curious, I picked it up and opened it. Inside was about 20,000 yen and a small note inside.

 _This is your allowance from me to reward you for being in the top ten on your midterms. Feel free to use it as you want  
-Dojima_

I blinked in surprise at the note, glancing back and forth between the envelope full of yen and the note. I couldn't accept this! There was 20,000 yen inside! But... I _am_ running low on yen... I bit my lip, internally debating whether or not to accept the yen.

"Here, Big Sis! Your share of breakfast" Nanako said, catching my attention. She smiled happily as she offered a rather messy egg sandwich, a paper towel on the bottom where she held it. I nodded a thank you and took it from her. Nanako began to eat her food, getting ready all the while since it was about time to go.

In the end, I decided to keep the yen, putting the envelope in my bag.

* * *

 ** _Lunch..._**

"Hey, Narukami-san! You have a visitor!"

I blinked in surprise as I looked up form my notebook, noticing that my classmates who ate in the classroom like I did was looking at me. I closed my notebook and stood up, making my way towards the doors where two male students stood by, watching me walk towards them. I blinked again in surprise when I noticed that my "visitor" was the boy from yesterday, who looked nervous and angry.

"Hello" I greeted. He said nothing but motioned his head to follow him. I blinked twice in surprise before nodding. The boy turned around and walked towards the end of the hallway, where less students where. I followed behind him, the sound of confused whispers entering and leaving my ears. When we reached the end of the hallway, he turned around and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back to the wall behind him.

"...So, did you read my letter?" the boy asked, his tone serious.

"Yes, I thought it was very moving. You have nice penmanship" I said bluntly. The boy's face exploded red as he nearly fell down to the side, taken back by my honesty. The boy struggled to stand straight, his stance looking as if he was ready to harm me as he leaned his face rather close to mine.

"H-H-How could you do that, you jerk?! A-And don't compliment my handwriting, it's weird!" the boy shouted, flustered. I blinked twice in surprise, sweat rolling down my jaw.

"Ah... I'm sorry" I apologized. The boy stood up and ran his right hand through his hair.

"I didn't even have enough courage to sign it, and yet a totally random person now knows my secret?!" the boy huffed, scratching his head. His eyes started to well up as his hand fell limp to his side.

"...What's the point anymore? She would never accept how I feel, anyways..." the boy sighed. Tears silently began to fall, as his face reddened. I stared in pity at the poor boy. There must be some way I can help him...

"Well, you don't know that, do you?" I asked, catching the boy's attention. I gave him a confident look, nodding.

"Your note was very modest and kind. I'm sure that the girl would be happy if you just told her!" I encouraged, causing the boy to blink in surprise. I placed my hands on my hips.

"Wipe those tears out of your eyes and go tell her, before lunch is over!" I instructed firmly. The boy stared at me for a moment before nodding with confidence. He quickly wiped the tears out of his eyes and run up the stairs past the corner. Once he had disappeared from my sight, I sighed silently before walking back to my classroom. As I walked back, it seems that more people were staring at me, some whispering things to each other.

* * *

 ** _After School..._**

When classes were over, I found myself being confronted by Yukiko as I packed my things.

"Hey, Hitomi-chan, what do you planning on doing?" Yukiko asked as I closed my bag.

"Um, I'm not sure. Perhaps I'll go home and study" I replied, standing up. Yukiko smiled a little as she pointed at herself.

"If you wouldn't mind, may I walk with you?" Yukiko asked. I blinked twice in surprise.

"Sure, if you want" I replied bluntly. Yukiko smiled and the two of us made our way to the back door to leave. Yukiko began to talk about multiple things, mostly small talk, as we walked downstairs to our lockers.

"Ah, hey! Hitomi!" I heard a familiar voice call out, catching my attention. I looked over and saw that the boy from yesterday was jogging towards me with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh, hello" I greeted as he stopped in front of me, panting a little. Suddenly, the boy bowed deeply, causing me to blink in surprise as people looked in our direction.

"Thank you so much!" the boy exclaimed as he quickly stood up straight. His face was red from either exhaustion or embarrassment as he grabbed my hands. I blinked rapidly in discomfort. This boy most certainly does _not_ know his manners.

"It was because of you that I was able to say how I really felt! And guess what? It worked! I'm so glad you helped, seriously I can't thank you enough!" the boy laughed. I blinked a few times at him, his face seeming to glow with happiness.

"Um, your welcome..." I said nervously, taking note of all the people watching and whispering. I hope no one was spreading horrible lies. The boy thanked me again several times before he left to go meet up with new lover, practically skipping. Once he was outside, I let out a sigh and put on my out door shoes, grabbing the note in the process. I feel comfortable enough now to throw it away.

"Who was that?" Yukiko asked once I had my shoes on and closed my locker. I rubbed the back of my neck as we started walking.

"I actually never got his name... But he seems to be in our grade, and well... A lot of misunderstandings happened" I sighed, throwing the note away as Yukiko and I passed by a recycling bin before exiting the school. Yukiko seemed okay with my explanation and the two of us started talking about manners.

When Yukiko and I entered the main shopping district, she asked if we could stop by Yomenaido Bookstore. I didn't see a problem with it, and agreed. While we were there, I scanned through some manga as Yukiko looked for a particular book. I debated over it for a while, but decided to go and buy a book that was on sale for 20% off. It was called "Expert Study Methods". Yukiko couldn't help but giggle at my book choice, causing me to blush. I only bought it because it was 20% off and had some promising techniques to make studying, note taking, and finishing homework easier.

"Thank goodness. That was the last one" Yukiko sighed as she held the bought she bought close to her chest.

"What is it?" I asked as we exited the store. Yukiko looked at me, slightly embarrassed.

"Um, well, it's about job certifications..." Yukiko began, causing me to blink in surprise. "Sensei recommended this book to me because it has details on a bunch of job licenses..."

"Are you going to apply for one?" I asked as we stopped walking, not to far from the bookstore. Yukiko nodded in reply. Her embarrassed smile slowly turned into a frown as she looked downward.

"Inside the TV... The "other me" said she didn't want to inherit the inn... And I think... those were my true feelings." Yukiko explained softly. She looked up and gave me a weak, but determined look.

"So, I've decided to be a little more true to myself" Yukiko began. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly. "I... I refuse to inherit the Amagi Inn! And when I graduate, I'm _leaving_ this town!" I blinked in surprise at Yukiko's words. There was a small pause before Yukiko started laughing.

"I-I said it!" Yukiko laughed, a refreshing smile on her face. I nodded slowly, putting the pieces together.

"I see... So in order to live on your own, you're thinking about getting a job license" I guessed. Yukiko nodded in reply, her smile growing wider as a soft pink covered her cheeks.

"That's right. I was thinking something along the lines of an interior decorator... What do you think?" Yukiko asked. I nodded slowly, an image of Yukiko decorating someone's house looking plausible.

"It's cool, isn't it?" Yukiko giggled.

"I had to find a secret part-time job, so that mother wouldn't find out. Did you know that you can fold envelopes in your room for a good sum of yen?" Yukiko asked. I blinked in surprise and shook my head. Yukiko and I began to walk again, heading to my house first since it was closest, as she explained all about the envelopes.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, May 23rd_**

The past two days have been peaceful, with little to no excitement going on. Although, it seems that a lot of people are talking about me throughout the school. Thankfully, all of it has been good and nothing bad.

When I arrived downstairs, I was greeted by Nanako, who was currently sitting at the kitchen table. There was a small potted seedling on the table that Nanako looked at with a troubled expression.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Perhaps she was hungry? It was rather early in the morning and I hadn't smelled any cooking while I got dressed. Nanako looked at me with troubled eyes.

"Um, we're growing veggies at school. The teacher gave us 'seedlings,' and told us to try growing them at home. I asked Dad and he said I could plant them wherever I want. I don't know where's good, though…" Nanako explained as she looked back at her seedling. I thought about it for a moment, thinking of where would be good. I then recalled that there was an open plot of land on the side of the house.

"Hey, Nanako" I began, catching her attention. "Is the place next to the house yours?" Nanako blinked and nodded, uncertain as to what I was saying.

"Mmm-hmm. We don't use it, but it's our yard... Is that where we're gonna plant the seedling?" Nanako asked, catching on. I nodded in reply and beckoned her to follow me.

"Okay!" Nanako cheered as she smiled widely, grabbing her seedling and hopping off the chair. Noticing that the pot was too heavy for Nanako, I carried the pot for her as we slipped on our shoes and exited the house; leaving the door unlocked.

I hadn't paid too much attention to the empty plot of land before, until now. There were tools lying around the ground, almost as if someone had been planning to fix up the yard beforehand. There was also a stack of cinder blocks, a few small planks of wood, and a huge pile of soil. If I used the materials and tools, I can make a simple garden within less than an hour. I placed the potted seedling down next to me and Nanako and I began to fix the potted land. It wasn't easy, especially since I was wearing a tight skirt. I was rather uneasy, nervous that a man would walk by. Thankfully, only housewives in the neighborhood went by- one of them who is interested in gardening herself even gave Nanako and I some tomato seeds for free as a gift. Nanako was so happy she jumped for joy and insisted on planting the tomato seeds and seedling once it was alright.

About 2 hours has passed since we've started. It took a bit longer than I had thought due to my clothing.

"Do you think the veggies will grow?" Nanako asked, a smile plastered on her face. I nodded in reply, grabbing a handful of air to show confidence.

"They will if we work hard!" I encouraged. Nanako copied my action and giggled.

"Mmm-hmm, let's do our best to take care of them!" Nanako happily exclaimed. "Hey, I want to make a sign! No one will know what we planted until the veggies grow. I gotta write down that there are veggies growing here." I nodded, thinking that the plan wasn't bad.

"All right, let's make one" I agreed. Nanako threw her hands up in the air in glee.

"Yay, thanks!" Nanako cheered, laughing. The cinder blocks had been used to fence in the pile of soil, which had been adjusted so it spread around evenly within its frame. What had been left over and had no actual use until now, were the planks of wood. Using that, Nanako and I made a sign, which we put next to the garden. The sign was small, but it made for a perfect finishing touch.

"We did it!" Nanako said, clearly ecstatic. "I'll be in charge of watering the seedlings! What do you want to do Big Sis?" Nanako looked at me with big sparkling eyes. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

"Well, how about I plant the seeds and seedlings?" I suggested. Nanako smiled and nodded.

"Okay!" Nanako beamed. "We made this garden together, so we should grow whatever is planted in it together! If a lot of veggies grow, will our house be like Junes?" I crossed my arms under my chest, raising an eyebrow at the garden.

"That would be really impressive...!" I admitted.

"I can't wait!" Nanako giggled. "Thanks for helping me, Big Sis!" I nodded in reply.

When Nanako and I returned back inside the house, putting all the metal tools inside a bucket so that they wouldn't rust, my iPhone rang. It was Hanamura calling, saying that he had nothing to do and wondered if he could come over. I asked Nanako if she would mind, to which she replied with "Yosuke-kun works at Junes right? He can come!" When I told Hanamura Nanako's response, he couldn't help but laugh. Thirty minutes passed after the phone call before Hanamura appeared. The first thing I spotted was the Junes bag he was holding.

"What is that?" I asked, giving Hanamura a bored look.

"I come by to visit and that's the first thing you say to me?" Hanamura teased, playfully. I furrowed my eyebrows as I puffed out my cheeks.

"Please tell me you did not buy whatever is in there before coming here..." I muttered. Hanamura smiled with a wink as he began to remove his shoes.

"That's _exactly_ what I did~" Hanamura whistled, allowing himself in. I walked next to him with an upset look, crossing my arms beneath my chest.

"You didn't have to do that, Hanamura! I've been feeling absolutely guilty ever since I used your tab!" I sighed. Hanamura swatted in front of his face, giving me a reassuring look.

"Bruh, it was only 200 yen! I easily paid it off the next day!" Hanamura said with a warm tone.

"But, it's still-" I began, only to be caught off by Hanamura flicking me on the forehead. I blinked in surprise as I covered my forehead with my hands.

"Listen, I'm telling you- it's fine! I gave you permission to use my tab, so stop feeling guilty about it okay?" Hanamura said with a wink. I blinked nervously before sighing heavily in defeat.

"Oh, hello!" I heard Nanako greet. I turned around and saw Nanako coming out of her room, which she was cleaning since Hanamura was coming over, and stood next to me. She gasped softly as a soft blush creep onto her cheeks.

"Oh, it's a Junes bag! What's in it?" Nanako asked, looking up to Hanamura with big sparkly eyes.

"Well, I bought snacks for you, Nanako-chan!" Hanamura chuckled happily. Nanako smiled brightly as she thanked Hanamura and cheered.

"Oh hey, Nanako-chan, are you free today?" Hanamura asked as he placed the Junes bag on the table. Nanako shook her head.

"No, I'm going to Takeyoshi-kun's house with Miwa-chan and Yo-chan" Nanako replied, surprising me.

"A-A guy's house?!" Hanamura stuttered, sounding astonished. Nanako blinked, looking somewhat perplexed.

"Takeyoshi-kun sits next to me. I'm going to deliver the public notice to him. Miwa-chan says she's going with me because she likes Takeyoshi-kun" Nanako explained.

"Because she likes him…?" Hanamura muttered, looking over at me as his cheeks reddened. I blinked by his reaction, confused.

"M-Man, kids sure are mature these days… Well, my first love was in first grade, too! I've always been ahead of my time" Hanamura chuckled nervously, making me think that he wasn't being very honest.

"But, well… I don't really need that in my life now. It's just not the time" Hanamura sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I have something I need to do before that can happen…" Hanamura said with a serious tone.

"Homework?" Nanako asked as she looked questioningly at Hanamura.

"No…" Hanamura began, uncertain. "Well, maybe it is. You're so smart, Nanako-chan!"

"Thank you!" Nanako giggled, sounding delighted with Hanamura's comment.

"Anyways, I gotta go now or else Miwa-chan will get upset" Nanako said, bowing a little at Hanamura.

"Oh, before you leave, do you want me to make any specific for dinner?" I asked, placing a hand on her head. Nanako looked up at me and smiled shyly.

"Can we have omurice?" Nanako asked. I nodded, rubbing her head.

"Alright. Make sure to come home before it get's dark" I reminded. Nanako smiled and nodded before turning around and walking towards the door. Hanamura and I watched Nanako leave, waving goodbye. A few minutes after Nanako left, Hanamura helped me store the snacks he bought.

"So, you're sealing off your heart? You don't plan on being in any intimidate relationship?" I asked, feeling the need to start a conversation. Hanamura blinked in surprise as he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Isn't that a random question to ask?" Hanamura asked nervously, his voice cracking a bit. I blushed in embarrassment, scratching my right cheek.

"Ah, um, well... You said earlier to Nanako that you didn't really need it in your life and that it wasn't the time" I explained as I stored the last box of pokey.

"I... I'm a little worried about you because I think that... It has something to do with Konishi-senpai..." I said softly. Having lost many people before in my life, possibly way too many to count, I know how hard it can be to progress. Hanamura was absolutely devastated when Konishi died... I want to help him progress, like no one has done for me.

The was a long and awkward silence in the house. Hanamura had froze when I uttered Konishi's name and was now staring blankly at the cupboard full of snacks. Hanamura sighed out of his nose, looking down to continue storing the snacks.

"Yeah... It's a bit embarrassing, but..." Hanamura began, a sad smile on his face. "I want to think of Saki-senpai when I finally bring her killer to justice... In hope that my feelings could reach her- wherever she is..." I nodded slowly, my eyes locked on Hanamura's profile as he slowly put the snacks away.

"Nanako-chan called it 'homework'…" Hanamura began, a strained smile forming. "Catching the killer, ending the murders, bringing peace to the town… Only _we_ can do it, huh?" I nodded as Hanamura stocked the last snack inside the cupboard, closing it's door. I reached out and gently grabbed his arm in front of me.

"I'll do everything I can to help you with that goal, Hanamura. I promise. Until then, I'll be counting on you" I said firmly, causing Hanamura to look at me with wide eyes. Konishi was a depressing topic for Hanamura... For him to have such a goal in mind, it moves me. Hanamura chuckled nervously, a soft tinged of pink on his cheeks.

"You definitely are a one of a kind, Narukami-chan" Hanamura chuckled as I let go of his arm. "To be perfectly honest, I thought that you were going to laugh or make fun of me for thinking that." I shook my head and looked down at my hands.

"I could never laugh at something like that" I said bluntly, slowly wiggling my fingers. "I've had the same idea... To do something while my head and heart was filled with someone I had lost..." I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. Soft piano key's began to ring in my ears as my fingers began to tremble in pain. I had suffered for so long because she was gone... All I ever wanted was to have her back. I had spent 9 years over a few pieces of paper, my entire soul filled with her in hopes that I could one day see her again. Even for just one day... It would be enough for me to apologies and say goodbye...

I let out a squeak of surprise when I felt someone wrapping their arm around my neck. It was obviously Hanamura, who was smiling brightly as if we hadn't been talking about the heavy stuff.

"Come on, enough with deep stuff! Let's have some fun!" Hanamura laughed, swaying his body to the sides, my body following his motion due to his grip on me.

"Oh hey, I have an idea! Why don't we hang out in your room?" Hanamura suggested, causing me to gasp and blush in surprise. My room was filled with paper work at the moment, due to some serious note taking last night. I refused his offer with all my might, causing him to laugh. A strange feeling warmed my heart for the remaining time I had hung out with Hanamura.

* * *

 ** _Thursday, May 26th_**

Waiting can be rather hard. The past three days have just been as uneventful as the other two days before the 23rd. Hanamura has been rather busy with work, the same with Yukiko and her family inn. Nise on the other hand has all the time in the world, sleeping the time away on the roof. The two of us haven't been hanging out since he leaves class almost immediately after the teacher to go sleep. To fill in my lonely void without my friends while waiting for Tatsumi to recover, I've been studying. It's no surprise to the others, who sometimes ask before leaving for work or to eat during lunch.

"Please turn to page 150 and refer to the map of Ancient Egypt. You'll also find a picture of the Great Pyramids, the pride of Egypt" Sofue instructed happily. I obediently turned to the page while also flipping to a new blank page in my notebook.

"It was said that these pyramids were built by slaves. However, upon excavation, attendance records of the workers were found, disproving that theory" Sofue explained. I listened intently to the lecture and took careful notes, which has been a lot easier for me thanks to that books I had bought. Now the problem is, I feel like my brain is going to explode. I'm going to admit that I need a break from studying.

"Hohoho, I'd believed in the nobility of the ancient Egyptians since even before they found those records…" Sofue laughed as she smiled widely at the class. "Ancient remains are the real stars of history! Don't you all feel the romance that comes of looking back on ancient times? My older brother is just a boring old samurai with no interests in ancient civilizations. He looks like an idiot in that kabuto! This nemes is much more elegant!"

"Mr. Hanamura!" Sofue suddenly exclaimed, causing those who weren't paying 100% attention to jolt in surprise. "Don't start zoning out just because I changed the subject! Tell me how the theory that the pyramids were built by slaves was disproven!"

"What?!" I heard Hanamura snort. "Uh, um… S-Something about laborers?" I cringed at Hanamura's guess.

"Attendance logs," I whispered, my eyes downwards at my notebook to make it seem to Sofue that I was checking my notes.

"Uh, I mean... Was it the attendance logs?" Hanamura corrected.

"Impressive, Mr. Hanamura. You've got it" Sofue praised as she nodded her head in approval. "Yes, the theory was disproven after the attendance logs of the laborers were found. There are even notes listed as reasons for absence, such as 'hangover'!"

"If the labor was being done by slaves, they wouldn't have been allowed to take days off for things like that, would they?" Sofue continued with her lecture. "It seems the long-prevailing theory was very different from the truth." I felt Hanamura tap my shoulder, causing me to glance slightly at him.

"Thanks for the help, Narukami-chan…" Hanamura whispered. I nodded in reply before turning my attention back to the lecture.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

"Man, I'm done with waiting!" Nise whined once school was over, recklessly packing his things into his backpack. I blinked in surprise by Nise's words as I packed my own bag.

"Waiting for what?" I asked. I already knew that he was most likely talking about Tatsumi, but I wanted to make sure. Nise looked at me with an exhausted look.

"For Kanji, of course! Haven't you noticed how slow the days go by now? I just want that big push-over thug to get better already so we can progress with the case!" Nise complained, sounding a bit like a child. I nodded in agreement.

"That would certainly be nice. I don't know how much more studying I can take before I become the next Albert Einstein" I said as I stood up, closing my bag.

"Just how much studyin' have you been _doing_ exactly...?" Nise asked nervously. I sighed, rubbing the back of my head.

"So much so to the point where I _bought a book_ on how to study..." I muttered. Nise gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his heart to make it seem more dramatic. My throat tickled as the corners of my mouth twitched.

"You know what then? We're going to hang out!" Nise said, as if declaring it. I nodded, finding the idea not bad at all. I can even say that I'm rather excited to hang out with Nise.

"Where are we going?" I asked as Nise and I began to walk out of the school. Nise gave me a thumbs up as he smiled brightly.

"We're going over to Samegawa River to train!" he said with a chuckle at the end. I nodded, thinking that it was better than doing nothing.

When Nise and I arrived to Samegawa River, I felt an interesting feeling wash over me as we did some basic stretches while talking about anything we could think of. Perhaps it was because I was wearing the school uniforms skirt and not into my sweats like I would usually wear. Or perhaps it was because I could hear several students talking as they walked home. Either way, my face was rather hot. Once stretching was over, Nise and I did a few laps around the river bank like we usually did. After that, we practiced kicking. Well, Nise did most of the kicking practice. I was a bit on the sensitive side due to my skirt, but I still did some kicks. They just weren't as high as I usually would kick. Midway through the training, Nise took of his green jacket due to the heat and practiced doing push ups; something he had just added to intensify the training. He offered his jacket as a some sort blanket for me so that my clothes wouldn't get dirty, but I refused to avoid grass stains on his clothing.

3rd POV

By the time Nise and Hitomi started to feel tired, they noticed that it had gotten pretty late. The early summer sun was resting on top of a few tree's in the distance, the clouds turning a subtle red and orange.

"Oh man, it's late... Let's call it a day" Nise panted as he looked over to Hitomi, who was also panting. Being her usual quite self (or perhaps just too tired to speak), she nodded in reply. Nise grabbed the collar of his white shirt and wiped the sweat off his forehead with it. He chuckled a bit while panting, smiling brightly over to Hitomi, offering a hand.

"Now this is what I'm talkin' about! Working out 'till sweat drops off ya face like a waterfall" Nise laughed, feeling refreshed. For the past few days after saving Kanji, time seemed to go by so slow for Nise. It was starting to get busy for Yukiko over at her inn, so he barely had the chance to hang out with her. Yosuke was in the similar position with his part time job over at Junes. At days like those, Nise wished that he to had a pat time job. But he would always remember how much of a hassle that would be, leaving Nise only Hitomi to hang out with. He didn't mind hanging out with Hitomi, but there would just be days when she was busy.

The only thing left to do for Nise was to sleep his days away, under the sun. Like Hitomi, he felt a special bond between himself and the others. Not being with them just makes things... Boring. Of course, there was always those special days when he wouldn't sleep around and do something, but it didn't feel the same because there was no one there. He felt as if he had grown a cocoon like a caterpillar, sleeping until the day finally came to wake up and spread his wings. So training with Hitomi today made him feel refreshed and re-energized.

"I think I have an unused water bottle in my bag... I'll get it for you" Hitomi said as she placed a hand over her cheek and heart. Nise blinked in surprise, not expecting Hitomi to offer him a drink of water when she too was just as exhausted. But before he could refuse, Hitomi had already jogged her way over to where they had placed their bags and his green jacket. Nise sighed as he blushed a little, watching Hitomi. She was one of a kind girl who is just packed with surprises. Nise finds himself always amused whenever he's with Hitomi.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Nise" a voice called out, causing Nise to freeze. He recognized that voice. He remembered it _very_ well. Nise gritted his teeth as he slowly turned around, his eyes meeting with a pair of chocolate brown eyes. There stood a boy about the same height as Nise with dark brown hair, chocolate eyes, and tan skin. The boy had a very well built, making Nise look like a weak girl compared to him. The boy's name was Takeshi Kouno- someone Nise only had _bad_ memories of.

"Hello, _Kouno-san_ " Nise greeted coldly, a fake grin on his face. Takeshi grinned back, glancing up and down Nise's chest. Nise couldn't help but get angry by this action, his eyes narrowing. Whenever Takeshi did that, Nise could always see a hit of mockery in his eyes.

"What'cha doing?" Takeshi asked, smirking. He knew full well what Nise was doing, but he couldn't make fun of him as efficiently if Nise didn't say it himself.

"...What's it look like? I'm training. _Working out_ " Nise said coldly. Takeshi laughed mockingly at Nise, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"For real? When are you gonna graduate to being Queen of the Hill?" Takeshi asked. Nise blinked a few times in confusion.

" _Queen_ of the Hill...?" Nise repeated.

"In kindergarten, it was the Crybaby Runt Gang" Takeshi began, a mocking smirk appearing on his face. "In elementary school, you were The Weeping Ally of Justice. And in middle school, it was the Pathetic Vanguards of the Lunch Revolution, wasn't it?" Nise blinked in realization as his face turned a little red in embarrassment. Nise had a bad habit of sticking up and protecting people whenever they were in trouble, crying all the while. It really showed just how much of a coward he's been for the 16 years he's been alive. Takeshi laughed softly at the sight of Nise's flushed face, finding this amusing.

"Heh, remember back in the good ol' days where you practically peed your pants at the sight of me? Kinda surprised that you haven't now" Takeshi snickered, causing Nise's face to burn an even brighter shade of red. He was starting to get _really angry..._

"That was _one_ time..." Nise growled, softly.

"Right, right..." Takeshi sighed, clearly not finding Nise threatening. "Anyway, what are you this time? The Sobbing Protector of Earth's Peace?" Nise clenched his hands into fists as he tried super hard to control himself.

"I'm not anything... Just 'Nise Satonaka'..." Nise explained through clenched teeth.

"Oh, you mean 'Sissy-Nise'" Takeshi said with a nod. That was the only name that Takeshi could remember that had Nise's first name in it. That, and well, _he_ made that name for Nise.

"So, how's Yuki doing? Does she have a boyfriend yet?" Takeshi asked, his face lighting up. Nise flinched at the name of Yukiko's name, his anger growing stronger.

"... _Yukiko_..." Nise began, correcting Takeshi, "...Is doing fine. And no, she doesn't have one..." Takeshi smirked as he eyed Nise, taking note of the anger that was growing within Nise.

"I see. Cool, cool~" Takeshi chirped. He had a crush on Yukiko throughout elementary and middle school, just like any other guy who had set eyes on her. But unlike a majority, Takeshi had the balls to go up to her and talk.

"She still good-looking? Maybe I should try for her again. Make sure to say hi to her for me, will ya?" Takeshi rambled. Nise's anger was at is breaking point by now, a pulsing vein popping out of his forehead. He _hated_ how Takeshi treated Yukiko, the memories of middle school flooding back to him. First, the bullying and then the assault he did on Yukiko... Those two reasons alone was enough to make Nise _hate_ Takeshi.

"Nise-kun, I have you're..." a voice began, only to trail off. Nise's heart stopped as the color drained from his face. He had forgotten all about Hitomi, who was searching for a water bottle. It turned out that she had already opened it and had to go buy Nise one. In one hand was Nise's new drink while in the other was the one she had opened. Hitomi was caught off guard at the sight of Takeshi, slowly approaching the boys as Nise quickly turned around.

"Um... Good afternoon..." Hitomi greeted shyly, blinking nervously at Takeshi. Takeshi, finally taking notice of the silver haired girl, whistled as he eyed her figure.

"Hey, how's it going pretty lady?" Takeshi cooed as he walked towards Hitomi, causing Nise to flinch.

"Kouno, leave her alone...!" Nise warned softly, sounding like a whisper. Takeshi swatted a hand backwards, causing Nise to flinch in fear. There was one thing he remembered clearly beside form Takeshi assault... And that was his undeniable strength that could destroy Nise in no time flat...

"P-Pretty lady...?" Hitomi repeated, as she blushed. No one has complimented her straight up to her face like that before.

"I haven't seen you around here before. You new?" Takeshi asked with a smile, stopping a rather uncomfortable distance in front of Hitomi. Hitomi took a step back, not liking the close distance they shared.

"Ah, um... Yes. I moved here around April..." Hitomi explained. Nise mentally cured at Hitomi, shouting in his mind that she shouldn't have answered him. Takeshi smiled gently, nodding as he eyed her body.

"Oh, that explains it" Takeshi replied, looking up into her eyes. "Say, mind showing me around? I haven't been here for a while and forgot where some places are." Hitomi blinked in surprise. She didn't think that this mysterious boy would ask her to show him around. Hitomi blinked nervously as she glanced over to Nise, who has been frozen with anger at Takeshi's question.

"Um, well actually... I'm a little busy..." Hitomi said weakly, glancing back at Takeshi.

"Hey come on, it won't take that long! Let's stop by this one place I _do_ know really quick!" Takeshi insisted. Hitomi glanced back over to Nise, unsure of what to do. Hitomi usually had a hard time saying no, especially when she was really uncomfortable. Noticing Hitomi's discomfort, Nise cleared his throat in hope to catch Takeshi attention. But it failed miserably.

"Kouno, leave her alone..." Nise growled, a bit louder this time. But Takeshi paid no mind to Nise. He was greatly interested in Hitomi and had forgotten all about Nise.

"Um, sorry, but I can't..." Hitomi said softly, nervous sweat starting to form.

"Just one little stop! It's not even that far, we'll be back before you know it! Come on, for me?" Takeshi cooed, grabbing Hitomi's right wrist. Hitomi flinched in surprise, startled by Takeshi's actions that she dropped the water bottle in her right hand. This caused Nise to explode, memories of what had happened back in middle school flashing in his mind. Nise growled as he marched up to Takeshi and pulled him off Hitomi.

"Yo, back off Takeshi! She ain't interested!" Nise growled, his expression turning fierce as he stood in front of Hitomi in a protective stance. Takeshi, who stumbled a bit when he was pulled off Hitomi, raised an eyebrow at Nise. Takeshi wasn't afraid of Nise, but he was rather surprised that Nise was strong enough to even do that.

"Whoa, that was a little aggres-" Takeshi began, only to be cut off by a threatening growl from Nise. A dark aura was starting to surround him, his expression turning somewhat demonic.

"I said: She. _Ain't_. Interested" Nise snarled. "You better go if ya know what's good for ya..." Hitomi blinked a few times in surprise by Nise's actions, her heart starting to pound as she blushed a bit. She was starting to feel a lot better now that Nise was in front of her, rather than the stranger.

"Sheesh, whatever happened to 'Sissy-Nise'?" Takeshi asked with a scoff. Nise raised his head a bit so that he was looking down at Takeshi.

"He ain't here right now, please come back again when you're _not_ a piece of _shit_ " Nise replied bluntly, causing Takeshi to flinch. A rather evil voice was hidden in Nise's actual voice somewhere and it was starting to frighten Takeshi. Hitomi blinked a few times when she heard an unfamiliar voice in her mind.

" **Don't worry, Hitomi-sama. I'm just aiding my master scare off this piece of trash** " the voice explained. Hitomi was surprised when a name surfaced in her mind. Tomoya...? Tomoya was helping Nise? Hitomi was rather surprised by this, since most of the time in the real world, no one could summon their persona's. Hitomi was greatly impressed.

"Oh, and stop tellin' me to say 'hey' to Yukiko for you 'cause it ain't gonna happen. Not after what you tried to do to her" Nise said bluntly. Takeshi was terrified at this point at his once cry-baby friend. After a moment, Takeshi scoffed and turned around, quickly walking away. Once Takeshi was completely out of sight, the demonic aura surrounding Nise disappeared as he let out a sigh. He turned around and looked at Hitomi with worried eyes.

"Hey, you good? He didn't hurt your wrist, did he?" Nise asked, his voice now normal. Hitomi only stared at Nise in reply. Surprised by Hitomi's silence, Nise squatted down a little bit so that he was at eye level with her.

"...Hey, are you alright?" Nise asked more gently this time. Hitomi couldn't help but blush as her heart began to pound, causing Hitomi to look down and place her right hand to her chest.

"My heart's pounding..." Hitomi muttered, confused by it and her red face. Nise blinked in surprise before letting out a short laugh, cutting it off with the back of his left hand.

"Well that's probably 'cause you were scared!" Nise chuckled, finding Hitomi really cute right now. This was a side that he really enjoyed seeing in her. Red face and gentle voice... It really makes his mind create images of Hitomi expressing emotion. It still confused him though as to _why_ she doesn't express herself. Nise stood up straight and patted Hitomi's head, causing her to look up as hear heart skipped a beat.

"Don't worry, I probably would have soiled my pants if he tried to get physical with me. Did you see those arms? It's like he lifts _cows_!" Nise exclaimed, shivering at the though of Takeshi's strength. Nise had tried to fight Takeshi once before, but it only led to Nise being sent to the Nurses office.

"Anyway, sorry you had to see that... That guy really pisses me off" Nise began, bending down to pick up the water bottle Hitomi had dropped. "His name is Takeshi Kouno. He was attending the same school as me and Yukiko up 'till middle school. He moved over to Okina City and attends their high school now. The bastard still stops every now and then to visit..." Hitomi blinked nervously as Nise opened the water bottle.

"You seem to not like Kouno-san very much..." Hitomi muttered as Nise took a gulp.

"Hell yeah I don't!" Nise replied once he swallowed the water. "You see, he has a really bad reputation for being with lots of women and bein' an abuser. Once, he grabbed Yukiko's hand- like he did to you- and tried to drag her off somewhere. Thankfully, Yukiko slapped him and ran straight to me about it." Nise looked intensely at Hitomi, eyeing her height and small body structure.

"You're not like Yukiko- you're the type of person who can't hurt a person even when necessary. You've proved that you're more of a protector _lots_ of times in the other world" Nise said softly, the injuries Hitomi had received from saving Kanji flashing back into his mind. For the next few days after that, Nise had trouble sleeping because of how worried he as for Hitomi's health. Hitomi looked down with a guilty expression, pouting slightly.

"Sorry..." she muttered. On a normal occasion, this would have caused Nise to blush due to how cute Hitomi looked, but this was serious. Nise grabbed Hitomi's shoulders, causing her to look up at him in surprise.

"Stupid, there's no need to apologies! _I_ should be _thanking you_ since you've saved my butt so many times!" Nise scolded. He didn't want to hear Hitomi apologies for saving him and the others in the other world. If he were to accept Hitomi's apology, then what would have been the point in accepting his Shadow? Nise sighed as he let go of Hitomi's shoulders, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, I'd sleep a bit better at night knowing that for _once_ you didn't get hurt over in the other world... But that's just who you are" Nise sighed. Ever since he accepted his true feelings, he has been more open in accepting the fact that there are some girls who are better and stronger than he is- like Hitomi. And it is _because_ it is Hitomi that he can feel better about the whole situation. He feels better about himself and doesn't feel like a damsel in distress. If a girl protects _him_ , then he just needs to protect _her_ in return.

"...Hey, let's make a deal" Nise began as an idea come to his mind. Hitomi blinked in surprise and tilted her head slightly.

"A deal?" Hitomi repeated.

"When we're over in the _other world_ , you can save my butt- and the other's too- as many times as you want. _As long as_ I get to protect you from people like that asshole in _this_ world. Deal?" Nise said, a smile forming on his face. Hitomi's heart skipped a beat as she blinked twice. Flustered, she nodded slowly. Nise chuckled at Hitomi's shy reply, finding it adorable.

"Heh, good! And don't worry, I promise you, Narukami-chan..." Nise began, looking serious. "I'll protect you from anything that might try and harm you. It doesn't matter what the coast..." Hitomi's eyes widened slightly as her heart began to thump. Nise could feel his own heart beat differently as he blushed. After a moment of silence, Hitomi looked down at her water bottle, ready to take a sip.

"...You're blushing, Nise-kun" Hitomi said bluntly before taking a sip. Nise's face exploded in embarrassment as he covered his face with his hand.

"Aw man, you couldn't let me say a cool line like that huh? Shoot, now I'm all embarrassed!" Nise squeaked, his legs giving out causing him to squat down. Hitomi felt a tickle in her throat that seemed to want to escape. But for some reason, it couldn't. Once Nise had calmed down, the two decided to head home. As they were walking away from the Samegawa Flood Plains, Hitomi looked over to Nise.

"You know... Earlier, you reminded me Tatsumi-san" Hitomi admitted, bluntly. Nise flinched in surprise as he turned his attention to Hitomi with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow.

"Huh, for real?!" Nise exclaimed. Hitomi nodded in reply, causing Nise to groan in confusion.

"I don't know how to feel about that... Kanji seems like a man's man, the type that I admire, but I'm pretty scared of him" Nise began. "Besides, I was trying to copy this one scene I saw in a _movie_ , not copy _Kanji_." Hitomi hummed, now knowing the explanation. With nothing else to talk about, Nise began to ramble on and on about the movie he had saw.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

Hitomi's POV

I opened the door to the Dojima residence, placing my bag down onto the floor as I began to remove my shoes. My body was rather sore from training... But I'm sure that my friendship with Nise has grown stronger. I can feel his resolve to do better. Once my shoes were off, I walked inside the house, only to see that Dojima was home today, reading the newspaper. Noticing my presence, Dojima lowered his newspaper and smiled slightly at me.

"Hey, welcome back" Dojima greeted warmly. I nodded a hello as I glanced over to Nanako. It seems that a quiz show was on, and Nanako was staring intensely at it. With a silent sigh, I placed my bag down on the ground leaning onto the stairway. With a heavy body, I walked over to the kitchen table and sat down across from Dojima, catching his attention. I let out a soft sigh as I closed my eyes.

"Hey, Hitomi... How's it going?" I heard Dojima ask, causing me to open my eyes and look at him. He was looking at me with a nervous smile, a bit of concern in his eyes. Before I could say anything, Dojima bit his lip and glanced upward.

"Oh, er... Well, maybe that wasn't the right line..." Dojima muttered to himself. It seems that Dojima is struggling to find the right words. Dojima sighed and laughed nervously.

"I don't consider myself an old man yet, but when it comes to high schooler... I don't know what to talk about" Dojima admitted as he grimaced. He looks rather perplexed... I sat up straight in my chair, pushing some of my hair behind my ear.

"Why don't we talk, Dojima? It has been a while, hasn't it?" I suggested. Dojima blinked in surprise as he lowered his newspaper.

"You're _that_ bored...? Well, alright then" Dojima sighed. Despite his sigh, he looks rather happy and is smiling. Dojima folded up his newspaper, placing it onto the table.

"So…what have you been doing after school?" Dojima decided to ask after a moment of silence. I thought about it for a moment, tilting my head from side to side.

"I mostly hang out with my friends..." I replied. That really is the only thing I tend to do after all. Kou hasn't been having any trouble with the basketball team, so I'm rarely needed to go there.

"...Are you really just 'hanging out' with your friends?" Dojima asked with a scowl, a rather suspicious tone in his voice. I blinked in surprise and tilted my head slightly.

"Um, what are you implying?" I asked softly. Dojima gasped softly as he turned away from me and rubbed the back of his head.

"Whoops. This is turning into an interrogation, isn't it?" Dojima sighed. "But it's not as if we have much in common... except for the murders." I stared at Dojima as he sighed, a rather shameful look on his face. I decided to change the subject.

"Um, well then... Tell me about yourself" I suggested, catching Dojima's attention.

"About me?" Dojima asked, looked questioningly at me. I nodded in reply.

"You're interested in the strangest things…" Dojima chuckled with a shrug.

"It's just what it seems. I'm a simple country detective living with my daughter. There's nothing about that to interest a high school kid" Dojima began. "...But you know, it really is good to have you around the house." I blinked a few times in surprise, my face heating up.

"Th-That's good to hear…" I stuttered as Dojima smiled.

"I didn't think Nanako would be so happy…" Dojima began, a bit softer than before as he looked over to where Nanako was sitting. "Hell, I'm already tired of hearing 'Big Sis' this and 'Big Sis' that." Dojima looked back over to me and stared at me for a bit.

"You're more like a very young sister to me than a daughter," Dojima remarked. I blinked a few times as I felt myself blush even harder, causing Dojima to chuckle. Thinking of a way to get Dojima just as embarrassed, I glanced around the room.

"...Ah!" I gasped softly, coming up with an idea. "Well, should I call you 'Big Bro'?" Dojima laughed at my words, a gentle tinged of pink covering his cheeks.

"Haha, stop that! You're sending chills down my spine" Dojima laughed cheerfully. I felt the warm feeling wash over me as I watched Dojima laugh, the corner of my mouth twitching. Dojima always seemed rather serious, so seeing this side of him is rather enjoyable.

"...I think it's been a while since I've laughed this much," Dojima admitted once he stopped laughing, the smile still left on his face. "Thank you." I nodded in reply, glad to have talked frankly with him. I can feel our relationship grow stronger...

"Alright, I have to finish processing some data from work." Dojima sighed as he stood up. "Don't hit the sack too late, you hear? 'Night." I nodded goodnight and went to my room.

* * *

 ** _Friday, May 27th_ | _After school..._**

After school, Yukiko talked with me over little things as we packed our bags.

"Oh, Hitomi-chan, do you think you can do me a favor?" Yukiko asked once our bags were packed. I blinked in surprised as I looked at her.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" I asked.

"Will you go to Junes with me?" Yukiko asked with an embarrassed smile. I nodded in reply, causing her smile to widen. Without another word, the two of us were off to Junes. Hanamura had already left for work by the time Yukiko asked me to go with her, which made me feel a little sad. It would have been nice to walk with him as well.

When we arrived to Junes, Yukiko dragged me over to the grocery department filled with fresh produce. She looked at the fresh vegetables before her, a somewhat overwhelmed expression on her face.

"Why are there so many types of food…?" Yukiko sighed as she turned to me. "Even eggs come in so many varieties."

"Are you making dinner at the inn?" I asked. Yukiko shook her head.

"No! I'd never dream of it!" She said as she smiled. "I don't think my food's nearly as good enough to serve to the guests." Despite saying so, she looked rather happy.

"So then, what were you planning on doing?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"I was just thinking of practicing my cooking…" Yukiko answered simply, a bit embarrassed. "Since I've decided to leave town… Eating out all the time is bad for you, right?" I nodded in agreement. Eating out was nice, but it is really only meant for special occasions. Yukiko giggled, holding one arm with the other.

"That's why I'm going to get some practice while I can!" Yukiko giggled, a soft pink covering her cheeks. A warm feeling washed over me as I nodded.

"Good luck. It gets easier once you get the hang of it" I replied. It took me a while to learn how to cook meals properly. Although, I was a bit of a visual learner, so after watching my mother cook I soon got the hang of it. Cook books were rather helpful as well.

"Thank you!" Yukiko giggled as she nodded, happily. "Oh, yes. I was thinking that maybe you could taste-test my food sometime. I want someone to eat it and let me know how it is. I thought I'd improve quicker that way, And knowing you, I'd get an honest opinion."

"W-Will you…?" Yukiko asked, sounding embarrassed as she looked nervously at me. I nodded.

"I don't mind. I'm looking forward to it" I replied, my face softening.

"Really?!" Yukiko exclaimed, smiling happily. "Thank you!" I nodded, telling her that it wasn't a problem. Yukiko turned her attention back over to the produce and began to confidently scan through them. I began to look through the produce as well, just to browse through it.

"When I obtained the power of Persona, I thought, 'I can do it…'" Yukiko began, catching my attention. "I used to think I couldn't do anything on my own, but maybe I really can… I depended on others up until now, but from this point on, I want others to depend on me… I'll do my best!" I blinked in surprise as Yukiko turned her attention to me, a fire of determination in her eyes. I nodded, grabbing her shoulder as a sign that I was putting my trust in her. I could sense her new iron will to do her best. It felt as if my bond with Yukiko had grown stronger.

"Now then, um… Where do they sell lobsters?" Yukiko asked, looking around with sparkling eyes. I felt a drop of sweat roll down my jaw as I blinked nervously.

"How about you start with small, like an omelet." I suggested, causing Yukiko to look at me in surprise. There was a moment of silence when Yukiko pouted, sighing.

"All right…" she huffed. "You sure know about stuff like this." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously at that comment. It was only because of my family situation that I had to learn how to cook...

"So, what ingredients should I buy?" Yukiko asked. "I know that in order to make an omelet you need eggs, but is there anything else?"

"Just follow my lead…" I replied, a short sigh escaping. I'm starting to have mixed feelings about this...

* * *

 ** _Saturday, May 28th_ | _Lunch..._**

I hummed a simple tune as I walked towards the cafeteria, wondering what to get for lunch. Yesterday I had melon bread with strawberry milk... Maybe I should have curry bread with tea? Hm, then again... Eating bread everyday might not be that healthy...

"Narukami-chan!" I heard a familiar voice call out, cheerfully. I looked over my shoulder and saw Hanamura jogging over to me with a bright, nervous smile.

"My buddy, my pal, my partner! You've got free time today, don't you? Don't you?!" Hanamura asked, sweat rolling down his face. I blinked rapidly in surprise as a small bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face.

"Hanamura, you're scaring me…" I muttered nervously. Hanamura laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"S-Sorry, but listen; I-I need your help!" Hanamura stuttered. I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's urgent tone.

"A-Alright, then… If I can help" I replied. Hanamura let out a long sigh of relief as he clapped his hands together in front of him as if he was praying.

"Thank you so much! You're such a good friend to me!" Hanamura cheered, tears of joy streaming down his face. "It's just for today! I'll see you later then!" With that, Hanamura ran off to get food. I sighed silently in confusion as I rubbed the back of my head. Just have I gotten into this time?

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

I focused intensely as I restocked the many products from Junes. It turned out that Hanamura needed my help for a sale in the grocery department. There was no time to explain since the sale started shortly after school. So Hanamura and I dressed into the Junes uniforms, after we had arrived from school. I was wearing a white and orange shirt like Hanamura, while wearing the light green Junes apron.

"Welcome, one and all! Choice salmon, 59 yen a slice, just as advertised! And while you're at it, how about some cheese? Direct from Italy and just 298 yen for today only…" Hanamura said with a confident voice and a business smile. He was the center of attention as many housewives, men, students, and even children surrounded him to get a bargain. I felt rather sorry for Hanamura due to all the people surrounding him, but at the same time- I most likely wouldn't have survived if I was in his place.

"Hey, if you're down with that one, restock this shelf, too!" I heard Hanamura exclaimed. I looked over my shoulder as I placed the last produce on the lower shelf and saw the shelf that Hanamura was talking about. I quickly got up and made my way to the other shelf.

Once the sale was over and the grocery department had simmered down, Hanamura and I were restocking one final shelf before we could finally call it a day.

"Phew, I'm dead tired…" Hanamura sighed, catching my attention. "They decided on the sale at the last minute, and Dad was bugging me to find helpers. I told him I didn't have time for that, but he wasn't listening." I nodded slowly, my movement stocking the shelf not slowing down. Hanamura made a face as he rotates his shoulders.

"I wasn't supposed to work today, either!" Hanamura groaned. He then chuckled and looked over at me with a warm smile. "But hey, I'm glad you were there! Thanks." I nodded as the two of us stood up. I felt the warm feeling wash over me as it usually did from time to time. I placed a hand over my heart and looked down. There is something that I… It feels like I want to say something… Something from this warm feeling. But… Just what is this warm feeling? It's so familiar but at the same time… It makes me want to cry in shame. I hear a voice deep within me, telling me what I should say. Izanagi… So I can hear him in the real world too? I looked up at Hanamura, who has been restocking the shelf and has not noticed me stopping.

"I... I found it rather fun. I'm glad I could help" I replied as I brushed off my skirt and the apron. Izanagi told me to say that… He said that it was what I wanted to say.

"Really?" Hanamura exclaimed, blinking in surprise. "Felt like nothing but a big pain to me. You're amazing." I blinked as I heard Izanagi tell me something once again. I shook my head slowly and tied my hands in front of me.

"I... only had fun... because of you" I remarked slowly, repeating the words that Izanagi was telling me. "You were telling jokes left and right. It was... fun."

"N-No problem!" Hanamura stuttered, a small blush tinging his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head. The warm feeling inside of me grew as I felt the corners of my mouth twitch. I asked Izanagi what to do, but all I could hear him say was that I wasn't ready. I don't know what he means by that, but being my persona, I'll put my trust in him.

"Good work today!" A rather deep and warm voice called out, catching Hanamura and my attention. Hanamura flinched and nearly fell down as a man who looked like an older version of Hanamura approached us, wearing similar clothes as Hanamura. I blinked in surprise at this older version of Hanamura, wondering if I had recently hit myself over the head.

"D-Dad, what are you doing here?!" Hanamura exclaimed as he looked rather flustered at the man. I blinked in surprise at the information Hanamura had carelessly slipped, looking back and forth between the two. Hanamura's father crossed his arms over his chest and gave him a rather blank look.

"Well, I heard from the other employees that a young woman from your school was helping you in this department" Hanamura's father explained bluntly, as if it was obvious. Hanamura's father turned his attention over to me, scanning me with his eyes. I blinked nervously as I blushed.

"Um, good afternoon..." I muttered shyly. Hanamura's father smiled warmly as he turned his body towards me.

"And you must be the young lady! How do you do, my name is Hanase Hanamura. I'm Yosuke's father" Hanamura's father greeted. I bowed politely as I cooled my face down. For some reason, I'm rather nervous to be meeting with Hanamura's father himself.

"My name is Narukami. Hitomi Narukami. It's a pleasure to meet you" I greeted, standing up straight. Hanase smiled warmly as pulled something out of his pocket.

"Nice to meet you, Hitomi-chan. As a thank you for helping us out today, please accept this" Hanase said as he gave me an envelope. I blinked in surprise as I hesitantly opened it. Inside was about 5,500 yen. I blinked in surprise, hearing Hanamura exclaim in surprise. I looked over and saw that Hanamura was looking over my shoulder, now turning his attention over to Hanase.

"You gave her 5,500 yen?! That's 500 yen extra than from my paycheck!" Hanamura complained. Hanase gave Hanamura a bored look as he swatted his hand in front of Hanamura's face.

"I'm giving everyone a bonus for working had. You'll get the same amount too" Hanase explained, causing Hanamura to relax a bit. I closed the paycheck and bowed politely.

"Thank you very much" I said as I stood up again. Hanamura was looking at me with a soft pink covering his cheeks while Hanase laughed.

"Think nothing of it, it's only fair" Hanase replied. His laughing ceased as he looked at me with questioning eyes.

"So, what is your relationship with Yosuke? He talks about you all the time at home, you know" Hanase explained. I blinked in surprise as my heart skipped a beat at this information. Hanamura's face exploded red as he punched Hanase on the arm.

"Dad, shut up- I don't do that!" Hanamura growled, his face growing redder. Hanase patted Hanamura's head, a worried expression on his face.

"But I'm worried for you, Yosuke. With how you can act sometimes, I'm afraid that you won't be able to get a girlfriend. Then who's going to make me grand kids?" Hanase asked. Now it was my turn for my face to explode red. Hanamura screamed in embarrassment as his whole body began to turn red. Hanase laughed at our reactions, causing Hanamura to grab my hand and drag me away.

"Come on, let's get dressed and eat or something!" Hanamura said with an embarrassed tone. Too flustered to say otherwise, I let Hanamura drag me.

* * *

"I am sooooo sorry about my dad..." Hanamura apologized as he covered his face with his hands. After we changed back into our uniforms, we sat over at a table in the Junes food court. Hanamura's face was still red from embarrassment. Me on the other hand, I had returned to normal already.

"It's fine, Hanamura. It says a lot about your father's personality, though" I replied. Hanamura sighed as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Tell me about it..." Hanamura sighed as he looked at me. "You know, there was this one time when-"

"Oh, Hanamura!" a familiar voice called out, interrupting Hanamura's story. I looked over and saw the two upperclassmen, Manami and Kurumi, walk over to us. They did not look happy.

"What's with the crowd today?" Manami asked in a rather annoyed tone. "It's way busy. If I'd know, I woulda skipped out." I blinked at this information. So there must be other sales too? That would explain why the food court is rather empty.

"Please don't." Hanamura said as he stood up. "You got a bonus for today, right?"

"Yeah, a whole 500 yen!" Kurumi scowled. "I'm trying to save up! Gimme a raise." I felt myself become a little irritated by Kurumi's tone. That is not the proper way to ask for more money. I looked over at Hanamura as he sighed, diverting his eyes to the side.

"Well… I don't think I can help you there…" Hanamura replied.

"What's the point, then?" Kurumi said rudely as she placed her hands on her hips. I felt the urge to stand up and smack these two once again, but I restrained myself. Instead, I cleared my throat and gave the girl a rather cold glare. Something I tend to do naturally just by staring at people. But just like last time, the girls didn't notice me and walked off. Though, they didn't go to far and were still nearby. The two started talking to each other… rather loudly.

"At this rate, my graduation trip'll be somewhere in Japan," Manami complained. "Maybe I should ask my parents to pay for it."

"Why don't you find a guy to pay?" Kurumi suggested.

"Haha, like _Saki_ did?" Manami mocked, emphasizing Konishi's name. I felt myself tense up as I glanced over to Hanamura. Hanamura visibly cringe upon hearing Konishi's name, biting his lip. I felt angry at this point and wanted to slap the girls. _Twice_.

"Was it during our second year?" Kurumi asked Manami. "When Saki eloped, I mean."

"Yep," Manami replied. "Apparently, she got with a college guy who came home, and went off with him. But she came right back, saying she'd save money and leave on her own."

"Huh? You mean she was dumped?" Kurumi sneered.

"Who knows…" Manami remarked. "She started working here to save money, didn't she? You know us high school girls can make easy money if we really want to." My blood was boiling at this point as the pair's gossiping continued. How could they talk about someone who died like that? I didn't know Konishi very well, but she might have been a good person! I looked over to Hanamura, who just sighed and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter," he began. "It's just hot air. I'm not letting it get to me…" I looked over to the girls, glaring at them.

"It's sad to be talked about like that, though..." I muttered, looking back over to Hanamura. He nodded slowly, his expression becoming serious.

"...We're the only one's who can avenge Saki-senpai. We're special. We're the only ones. So… there's no need to bother with outsiders" Hanamura said with a stern tone. I blinked a few time in surprise.

"You've become rather mature, Hanamura" I pointed out. Hanamura blinked in surprise as he looked up at me.

"Well, I saw the kid in me inside the TV. I felt I needed to change…" Hanamura pointed out as he smiled sheepishly. There was a short pause when Hanamura's face began to soften.

"You know, I think it's good you came along" Hanamura admitted. I blinked and tilted my head towards the side slightly.

"Hmm…?" I hummed.

"Because of you, I was able to make it this far" Hanamura explained as he nodded firmly. There was a short pause again.

"What a pain…" Hanamura sighed heavily as he looked down. "Oh, uh, not you… I wonder what it is. I dunno…" I blinked at Hanamura's words, concern filling me.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Hanamura looked up at me sharply, blushing.

"Oh, i-it's nothing… Anyway, you wanna go to Aiya to eat?" Hanamura asked. I nodded as I pulled out the envelope Hanase gave me.

"Sure, I'll treat you Hanamura" I replied. Hanamura smiled and laughed, swatting his hand in front of his face.

"Hey come on, Narukami-chan! I should be treating _you_ for helping out today!" Hanamura laughed. After a few minutes of debating, we decided to pay half for our total price and headed over to Aiya.

* * *

 ** ** ** ** ** ** _Sunday, May 29th_ | _Early Morning..._************

I blinked nervously at what I was seeing in front of me. It was rather early in the morning and I was making breakfast for Nanako and I when someone knocked rapidly on the door. I went to open it and saw that it was Kou, bowing at a 90 degree angle as she had her hands in front of her head.

"...Good morning, Kou-chan. Want something to eat?" I asked awkwardly. Kou stood up and smiled.

"No thanks, I already- WAIT THAT'S NOT IS IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW!" Kou suddenly shouted, causing me to nearly fall backwards in surprise. I placed my hands on my hips and gave Kou a rather stern look.

"Kou-chan, it is very early in the morning so please keep your voice down" I scolded. Kou placed her hands over her mouth and bowed in apology.

"Anyway, what can I help you with?" I asked with a sigh.

"Well, can I borrow you for the next few days? The girls have been rather lazy, which isn't good for the new recruits we got! I'm worried that they'll drop out, they're really good and are really athletic" Kou explained, looking frantic. I blinked in surprise, speechless by Kou's request.

"Didn't you say that you were doing well a few days ago when we bumped into each other?" I asked. Kou laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Well yeah, but that's when they started getting lazy... I really need your help! These three girls we got are good, I mean- they go to the fitness center in Okina City every other day!" Kou explained. I blinked in surprise when Kou mentioned the fitness center. The three girls I had helped out came to my mind. After a moment I sighed.

"Alright, I said I would. But only for a few days!" I said with a nod. Kou squealed happily and hugged me, jumping up and down in joy.

"Thank you so much, Hitomi-chan! You really are the best!" Kou squealed. Kou suddenly stopped jumping as she let go of me, her face blank. I blinked in confusion as I raised an eyebrow. Kou looked down at my chest with envy.

"I knew that they were huge, but I didn't think they were _that_ huge..." Kou muttered. I blushed furiously and covered my chest, causing Kou to laugh.

"Big Sis...?" I heard Nanako call out. I turned around and saw Nanako staring at Kou and I with a surprised look. Nanako slowly walked over to me, hiding behind my legs.

"Oh, whose this? She's so cute!" Kou giggled, crouching down to Nanako's height. Nanako blushed and hid even further behind my leg.

"I-I'm not cute..." Nanako mumbled, embarrassed. I patted her head reassuringly, looking at Kou.

"This is my little cousin, Nanako Dojima. Nanako, this is a friend of mine, Kou Ichijo" I introduced. Kou smiled brightly.

"Nice to meet'cha, Nanako-chan!" Kou greeted. Nanako nodded hesitantly. With a giggle, Kou stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, once you're done eating, head to the Samegawa Flood Plain! Chou and I wanted to do some laps, and you might as well come so you can get yourself ready!" Kou chirped. I exclaimed wearily, my left eyebrow twitching.

"More training...?" I mumbled.

"Hm?" Kou asked, blinking innocently. I sighed and shook my head.

"No, nothing... I'll be there in about an hour or so" I said. Kou smiled and thanked me before saying goodbye to Nanako and I, leaving with lots of enthusiasm. I sighed once again, my legs already becoming heavy at the thought of running.

* * *

 ** _Monday, May 30th_ | _Early Morning..._**

"So, Kanji Tatsumi is still absent on account of 'illness.' Sounds like a load of bullshit to me!"

I blinked nervously at Morooka's words, finding them unnecessary and rather rude.

"Tch, asshole..." Nise muttered under his breath, causing me to glance over to him.

"I bet he's out there dicking around all day long!" Morooka continued. However, he stopped when he looked over to the direction of Nise, Yukiko, Hanamura, and myself.

"…What? What's with your faces? You trying to tell me I shouldn't assume things…? Don't tell me you're friends with that punk!" Morooka growled. No one said anything as I felt the other students looking over at our direction as well.

"All right, listen to these words!" Morooka huffed. "Aristotle said, 'A true friend is one in two bodies!' You better watch who you hang out with! You'll only bring your own worth down! Though, I doubt the trash of society would even have friends like you!" Surprised by the words, I pulled out my emergency notebook and wrote down his words.

As the class continued, I noticed Nise place a small piece of paper down on the corner of my desk in the corner of my eye. Blinking in surprise, I kept my eyes on Morooka and unfolded the note.

 _U, Yukiko, & Me Aiya's Dinner after school?_

I blinked in surprise at the message, glancing over at Nise. Nise was glancing at me with a small smile, raising his eyebrows as if asking me in person. I glanced back at Morooka to make sure that they weren't looking at me and quickly wrote down a reply.

 _Srry, got basketball practice. Won't b free 4 a while._

I felt a little guilty for having to turn down Nise's offer, especially this would have been the chancre to hang out with both Nise and Yukiko. But I agreed to help Kou, so I can't go- even if I wanted to. I casually placed the note back on Nise's desk, my eyes on the teacher as if I wasn't doing anything. I glanced over at Nise and watched him read the note, his excited expression turning quickly into one of disappointment. He glanced over at me, noticing that I was staring and gave a sad. I mouthed "sorry", not liking Nise's sad look. He glanced quickly back at Morooka before shaking his head and glancing back at me. "It's fine, good luck with the basketball" Nise mouthed back. I nodded a thank you in reply and looked back over at Morooka. Basketball for "a couple of days"... I'm getting the feeling that this is going to really wear me out...


	14. The School Camping Trip

_Monday, June 6th_ | _Early Morning..._

I let out a soft yawn as I walked- more like stumbled- down the road, rubbing my eyes. My body felt incredibly heavy due to the constant practicing I've been doing in the basketball club. With the three new girls- who, just as I thought, were the three girls I had helped out with Nise's meat gum- the team had a burst of new energy; especially with my temporary return. Due to the practicing, I've been staying up even later than I usually would- which is the reason why I'm having trouble walking normally. Thankfully, yesterday was my last day of practicing, so I don't have to worry about fatigue for another good few days. The morning sun was shining brightly on everyone, making my tired body feel weak and powerless under its gentle heat. I feel like I'm going to melt away.

"Hey, Hitomi-chan!" I heard a voice call out to me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Yukiko jogging towards me. I slowed down so that she could catch up.

"Good morning Yukiko-chan" I greeted once she caught up, the two of us walking side by side. Yukiko nodded hello as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"So earlier, I stopped by Tatsumi Textiles to check up on Kanji-kun" Yukiko began, sounding a little out of breath. "His mother said that he's going to school today!" I blinked in surprise at the news.

"Really? That's wonderful!" I replied, glad to know that we can finally talk about the case with Tatsumi. The past week have most certainly been tiring, but there have been rather large amount of days before that where I did nothing but study my brains out. With Tatsumi back, I most certainly don't have to worry too much about it anymore. At least, not for a while.

"Yes, it is. We need to make sure we talk to him after school today" Yukiko suggested with a serious tone.

"Should someone go get him? Or should we leave a note telling him to meet us?" Yukiko asked. I hummed for a moment as I thought about it. Nise and Hanamura seem to have mixed feelings about Tatsumi… Yukiko and I so far aren't very bothered by him, but it might raise suspicions if the two of us were to go. And sending him a note would only bring more suspicion or make him think that we're going to harm him.

"I'll get him personally after school" I replied, finally coming up with the solution.

"Are you sure? We can always get Yosuke to do it" Yukiko suggested. I shook my head.

"Hanamura would be rather uncomfortable by that if we ask him" I explained.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Yukiko asked, sounding a bit concerned. I shook my head again.

"No, it's fine. You should tell Hanamura and Nise-kun that we'll be meeting up with Tatsumi-san after school" I instructed. There was a small moment of silence between us as we walked.

"Alright… Does the roof sound fine?" Yukiko asked, sounding very faintly concerned. I nodded.

"Oh, actually… Do you know what classroom Tatsumi-san is in?" I asked, realizing that I didn't know.

"I believe he's in class 1-3" Yukiko replied. I nodded a thank you. The rest of the walk to school was fairly cheerful thanks to all the topics Yukiko had talked about.

* * *

 _After school..._

Once the bell had rung, ending our long day of school, I packed up my bag a lot faster than normal. Nise let out a long sigh of relief as he stretched in his chair.

"Man I'm bored..." Nise sighed. "Hey, why don't the four of us all go somewhere or something? How about a bite to eat?"

"That doesn't sound half bad. I'm free today so I'm down" Hanamura replied behind me. Yukiko nor myself said anything as I fastened my bag close, quickly standing up.

"Hm? Are you heading home, Narukami-chan?" Nise asked. I looked over to Yukiko and nodded to her. She nodded back, knowing that she needed to tell the guys to head up to the roof. Without a word to Nise nor Hanamura, I quickly left the classroom and headed downstairs. As I left the classroom, I could hear Nise call out after me in sight concern, only to be shortly shushed by Yukiko who began explaining about our plans.

Once I reached the first floor, I headed towards the right where Tatsumi's class was located. During lunch, I decided to wander the first floor so that I wouldn't waste any time in finding Tatsumi. I would have gone and told Tatsumi during then, but it appeared that he went off somewhere to eat. Upon arriving the classroom, I peeked in through the windows for a strand of bleach blonde hair.

"Hm? Oh hey, you're Narukami-senpai from class 2-2! The transfer student!" I heard a guy call out. I looked over to my right and saw three first year male students looking at me in awe. I turned my attention away from the window and approached the three boys.

"That's right. I apologise, but I don't believe we've met" I replied, feeling slightly guilty of not knowing the three boys even though they had known my identity. One boy with black hair was leaning on the right side of the door while opposite of him is a boy with long red hair tied in high ponytail and behind them was a tall boy with light brown hair. The three boys laughed, causing my face to heat up slightly.

"Yeah that's right" the long red haired boy began, "There's lots of rumors floating around about you, that's how we knew who you were." I blinked several times in surprise. I didn't mean for myself to become so well known like this. In embarrassment I looked down at the ground as my face became even hotter.

"Oh, I see… I didn't expect to become such talk..." I muttered, trying to cool my face down. Usually rumors were a bad thing. I didn't want to have people talk about me- I wanted this to be a peaceful year. …Yet again, I guess I shouldn't have expected that after finding the announcers body the day I started attending school here.

"A-Anyways, what can we help you with?" the first boy- the one that had called me earlier- asked. I looked back up at them, noticing that all three had slightly red faces.

"Um, I'm looking for Kanji Tatsumi. He should be in this class..." I explained. The three boys gasped, their once red faces becoming pale.

"Who want's to see me?" a growl asked, causing the three boys to jump in surprise. The trio turned around and saw Tatsumi behind them, looking threatening. The trio looked over at me and bowed politely before quickly walking away to go home. Tatsumi watched the boys in slight confusion and anger before looking at me.

With a gasp, Tatsumi pointed at me in surprise and said, "Hey, you're…!" I nodded, confirming the thoughts that were in his mind.

"Hello Tatsumi-san. I'm glad to see that you're doing alright now" I said with a slight tilt of the head. Tatsumi blinked rapidly in surprise as if he had seen a ghost. After a moment, he let out another gasp as his face grew red.

"U-Uh… Hey. And yeah, I-I'm doin' fine..." Tatsumi replied awkwardly, his eyes shifting a little. He seemed rather nervous around me. Oh, perhaps it's because he was often avoided due to what people might say as "frightening appearance".

"If you wouldn't mind, the others and I wish to speak with you" I explained bluntly, not wanting to waste too much time. Tatsumi looked up at me in surprise, arching an eyebrow.

"Huh? Y-You want to speak to me…?" Tatsumi asked, a bead of sweat rolling down his jaw. I nodded in reply and turned around.

"Please follow me" I instructed gently before walking towards the stairs. The two of us walked up the stairs to the roof in silence. It wasn't until we reached the third year's floor that Tatsumi spoke.

"Uh… S-Sorry, I never did catch you name. You know, 'cause of everything that happened..." Tatsumi muttered, sounding a bit shy. I stopped and turned around to face him.

"My name is Narukami. Hitomi Narukami" I began with a slight bow, "The others that we're going to meet up with is Yosuke Hanamura, Nise Satonaka, and Yukiko Amagi. Hanamura is the one who has an orange book bag, Nise-kun is the one with the green jacket, and Yukiko-chan is the girl with black hair. We're all second years and on behalf of everyone else, It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Uh, s-same here- huh?" Tatsumi began before suddenly cutting himself off, his eyes becoming wide with shock. "Wait a sec, you're a _second year_?" I blinked in confusion at Tatsumi's surprise.

"That's right…? Is there something wrong with that?" I asked, wondering if somehow my age was offensive to him. Tatsumi's face became red as he flinched.

"Uh, well, not really _wrong_ I was just…" Tatsumi stuttered while rubbing the back of his head, "You're so small, I thought that you were a first year like me. And earlier, you even called me 'Tatsumi-san'." I blinked in surprise by his explanation and felt myself blush. I looked away while tucking some of my hair behind my left ear.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I-I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable by a stranger calling you 'Kanji'..." I explained shyly, causing him to flinch once again. The other's, besides from Yukiko who has been using the honorific 'kun' with Tatsumi's first name, have been bluntly referring to him by his first name. It was considered normal to do so since we were his senpai and he was our kohai. But I prefer to call people by their first name with the appropriate honorific when people give me okay. It's the reason why I still call Hanamura- well, Hanamura- as opposed to "Yosuke-kun".

"Uh, well you are older than me, so… I-I don't really see a problem with it. 'Kanji' 'sokay" Tatsumi replied, looking downward in embarrassment. At this action, my blushed face quickly cool down as the corner of my lips twitched.

"You're a rather nervous fella, aren't you… Kanji-kun" I said in a slightly teasing tone. Kanji looked up at me in surprise, his face as red as Yukiko's headband.

"N-Not all the time! I-It's just sorta embarrassin' ya know? I mean you saw my hidden self and all that..." Kanji explained before looking to the side. I nodded, understanding why he would be acting like this then. To most people, I suppose this would be considered embarrassing. I guess since my inner feelings haven't been revealed I don't really know how the others feel.

"You have a point there" I began, "I guess that's just more the reason to be more open with us. You seem like a nice guy, it shouldn't be that hard." Kanji snorted in what I can assume is embarrassment and the two of us began to climb the stairs up once again. My legs have become incredibly tense thanks to basketball, but they didn't ache. I guess I shouldn't really complain. When I opened the door to the roof, I saw that the others were over at the far corner where Nise usually sleeps at. Hanamura and Nise were sitting next to each other while Yukiko stood next to Nise. I walked over to them, getting their attention. Hanamura smiled his usual bright smile at me while patting the spot next to him and his orange book bag.

"Narukami-chan, you made it!" Hanamura cheered, as if I was someone important. My lips twitched slightly at this action as I tucked my skirt to my skirt before sitting down.

"Woah, it's Kanji! He really showed!" Nise exclaimed, sounding rather surprised. Yukiko jabbed him with her elbow, earning a yelp.

"Hello, Kanji-kun" Yukiko greeted with a smile.

"Uh, h-hi there!" Kanji stuttered as he stood in front of the us awkwardly. I suppose he doesn't really want to sit next to four of his senpai's, huh? I heard Nise snort, placing a hand over his mouth to suppress his upcoming laughter.

"Ha, where'd the manners come from?" Nise asked, a small laugh escaping. Kanji rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, um… I found out that you guys were my senpai…" Kanji replied, embarrassed. This earned a few laughs from the others, except from me. After all, I was the one who told him.

"Uhh… Thanks a bunch" Kanji began, a hint of gratitude in his tone. "Though I don't really remember much what happened…" This caused the others to stop smiling and turn rather serious, as Yukiko turned her attention to Kanji.

"There are some things we'd like you to tell us about," Yukiko explained.

"First off, who was that boy you met with?" Nise asked. Kanji seemed a little confused at first until he realized whom Nise had been referring to, at which he reacted rather negatively.

"I-I really don't know much about him… I mean, I've only met him twice…" Kanji replied.

"Yeah, but you walked home from school with him." Nise pointed out. "What did you guys talk about?"

"Uh, well…" Kanji began. "He just asked stuff like…If anything different happened lately…" I noticed that as Kanji spoke, a soft tinge of pink began to cover his cheeks.

"I dunno where my head was at…" Kanji continued, his blush darkening. "When I came to my senses, I blurted out that I wanted to see him again." I heard Hanamura next to me squeak a little bit in surprise and discomfort.

"To... a guy," Nise said, sounding rather perplexed and as uncomfortable as Hanamura.

"I, uh… I don't really get it myself." Kanji sighed. "Girls are so loud and obnoxious, so, y'know… I really don't like dealing with 'em. Guys are a lot more laidback. S-So, uh, I started thinking… What if I'm the type who never gets interested in girls…? And I couldn't accept that, so I kept spinning around and around in my head…" I nodded slowly, not letting the whole "loud and obnoxious" comment get to me. There are a lot of women out there who can be defined as exactly that. I glanced over to Yukiko and noticed that she seemed a little bit offended, but not so greatly that she was going to do any harm to Kanji.

"W-Well, I can understand the part about feeling more relaxed around dudes," Hanamura spoke up. He and Nise seemed a bit uncomfortable, which earned a reassuring pat on the back from Yukiko- who had noticed Nise's discomfort- and myself. I turned my attention over to Kanji.

"How are you feeling about it now? Are you still confused?" I asked in a way that didn't sound to nosey. Kanji blinked a bit and rubbed the back of his head, smiling a little.

"I'm fine now. I mean, it was all in my head, when y'get down to it. I was the one shutting out that stuff." I nodded, glad that Kanji was feeling better.

"So, uhh…" Kanji began, pausing for a moment. "Our family's run a textile shop for generations… Oh yeah, you already knew that. My parents are kinda weird… They say stuff like, 'Dyes are ones with the universe,' and 'Cloth is alive…' That's the kinda house I grew up in. So I've been interested in sewing and stuff since I was a kid. But the second I say stuff like that, people look at me funny…"

"Girls made fun of me, the people in the neighborhood treat me like I'm some zoo animal, so I was sick of everything." Kanji sighed. "And when I got to my senses… I was running wild." Kanji ran his hands through his hair and scratched his head, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"Shit, what is with me today? I'm going on and on about myself… Forget all that. Man, I must look really lame right now" Kanji said, embarrassed. I blinked at his comment and shook my head.

"I find you really cool, Kanji-kun" I said, causing everyone to look at me as Kanji's blush darkened.

"Nah, I doubt it…" Kanji chuckled a little, looking up at the sky as his face grew even redder. "Haha…I've never talked about any of this stuff before. Guess I never had anyone to tell it to." Once Kanji's face returned to its normal shade, he looked back at us.

"I guess I wasn't really afraid of girls... I was just scared of people in general. But all that's behind me" Kanji said with confidence. I nodded slowly, the corners of my mouth twitching as a warm feeling washed over me.

"Wow, I'm surprised…" Nise began as he smiled. "You're a good kid…" Kanji's blush returned as he clicked his tongue at Nise.

"D-Don't call me a good kid" Kanji stammered. I felt something tickle my throat as the warm feeling grew even warmer.

"Hahaha, no need to get embarrassed" Hanamura laughed. "You're a big guy, you can take it." The others began to laugh at this, causing Kanji to scowl.

"Hey, is there anything you remember after you ran into us the second time?" Hanamura asked once the others calmed down. "You know, after you chased us away and said you were gonna take us down."

"Huh?" Kanji blinked. "Uhh… I went home… I was gonna sleep it off in my room… Wait, I think someone came…"

"To your house?!" Hanamura asked, rather quickly. "Who was it?!" Kanji blinked nervously at Hanamura's sudden question, some sweat rolling down his face.

"Uh, well, it was just a feeling I had…I dunno if anyone actually came…Other than that…I remember some weird, dark entrance thing…When I woke up, I was laid out on the floor of that bathhouse place" Kanji explained. I looked over to Yukiko, seeing if she had remembered something.

"A dark entrance…" Yukiko muttered, thinking intensely about Kanji's words. "Hmm… Could it have been a TV?"

"Huh…?" Kanji began, arching his brow. "Now that you mention it, maybe so… Uh, why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason…" Yukiko replied. "I was just wondering…"

"Did the police ask you anything?" I asked, recalling Dojima muttering about Kanji's interrogation while he thought I wasn't paying attention.

"Well, my mom had called the cops to look for me. Of course you guys returned me pretty quickly…" Kanji began. "Anyways, they questioned me for a while. I told them exactly what I just told you... and they looked at me like I was crazy." There was a small moment of silence as the others took in Kanji's words.

"So, like…" Kanji began. "Are you guys playing detective or somethin'?" I nodded slowly, looking over to the others. We sort of are playing detective but… Instead of guns we have personas...

"Mmm, well, something like that," Nise remarked. Kanji grinned as he looked at us with a determined look.

"Anything I can do to help? If there's some bastard out there who put me through this, I ain't gonna rest until I make 'em pay!" Kanji said, flexing his arm and placed his other hand on his biceps.

"Seriously? Awesome! You'd make a great addition to our team!" Hanamura said with a stunned tone. "Whaddaya say, Leader?" I blinked once I realized that all attention was on me. Sometimes I forget that I'm the leader of the group.

"Of course he can" I replied. Kanji smiled as he did some sort of salute.

"Thank you, Sir- er, ma'am! I'll put my life on the line for you guys! I'll do my best!" Kanji cheered, turning a bit embarrassed that he had called me sir. The others laughed at Kanji's embarrassment as I nodded. As of this point, Kanji Tatsumi is now part of the team. Considering what he was capable of, Kanji was definitely going to be a strong asset in solving the case.

"Well, if we're gonna welcome aboard a new member…" Hanamura began, once the others had calmed down.

"Should we take him to our special headquarters?" Yukiko finished, looking rather happy.

"We're still calling it that…?" Nise sighed as he pursed his lips.

"Wh-What's that?!" Kanji asked, looking confused yet rather excited.

"C'mon, let's go!" Hanamura cheered as he and Nise stood up. Hanamura took the lead as Nise walked with Yukiko, leaving only Kanji and I. Kanji looked over to me as I stood next to him, waiting for him to walk. I looked over to him and nodded, causing him to blush a bit before walking after the others.

* * *

Once we arrived at Junes food court, everyone gather at our usual table, a noticeable addition of Kanji. I sat next to Yukiko and Hanamura, while Nise and Yukiko sat on either side of Kanji. Earlier, Nise suggested to eat something as a joke, but was apparently taken seriously by Kanji. In the spur of the moment, I also decided to get something to drink- a nice can of iced tea since I had noticed that it helps me think rather clearly. Kanji was eating grilled steak with a few additional side orders, the others staring at him as if he was Nise's duplicate. While Kanji ate, Hanamura was explaining the situation, with Nise and Yukiko popping in a few times to add in details every once in awhile. I on the other hand, kept quiet as I listened to the Hanamura's explanation- trying to connect some pieces.

"Man, you eat a lot…" Hanamura remarked, after finishing his explanation. "Were you listening to what we were saying?" Kanji looked up, his mouth full of steak. Something tickled in my throat as I stared at Kanji's cheeks that were puffed out like a chipmunk from the steak.

"Huh? Shurr, I waf lifnin'" Kanji replied, some food coming out of his mouth. Yukiko couldn't help but squirm as she scooted a bit closer to me.

"Close your mouth!" Hanamura scolded as he made a face. Kanji chewed a few more times before swallowing.

"So, uh… Wait" Kanji began, a questioning look on his face. "So someone's killing people with a TV…? What, is he beating them to death?"

"No, they weren't being beaten with a TV!" Hanamura snapped. "Were you listening at all…?" Kanji looked rather perplexed and a tad bit embarrassed. Perhaps something was distracting him as he listened to Hanamura's explanation.

"Don't worry man, he'll understand once he sees the place with his own eyes" Nise said reassuringly as he swatted his hand in front of his face. His face quickly became serious as he looked over to Yukiko.

"But the way it happened was just the same as with Yukiko. The killer kidnapped him first, then threw him into the TV" Nise grumbled. I looked over to Yukiko just in time to see her nod slowly.

"Yeah… It's scary" Yukiko muttered. In pity, I leaned over to Yukiko and rubbed her back. Yukiko smiled a little as she looked down, telling me that she appreciated my actions.

"That show's been pretty crazy lately, huh?" I heard a male student asked. I looked up from Yukiko, over Kanji's eating motions and saw a table next to us with two male students sitting there.

"Yeah, I keep wondering who'll show up next" the other student said with a nod.

"I knew before it came on that he'd be the next one to appear," the first male student said as he grinned widely. "What's that dude's name? The first-year who used to be in a biker gang…" I looked over to Kanji and saw that he had stopped eating, his expression looking annoyed.

"Who the hell d'you think was next?" Kanji growled. I looked back over to the table with the male students, just in time to see them freeze up. Kanji stood up briskly, his chair almost falling as he looked at the two.

"His name is Kanji Tatsumi..." Kanji began as he walked over to the table at a very slow, and somewhat creepy manner. "And he wasn't in a biker gang- he's the one who beat the living shit out of those leathered-up pansies." Kanji suddenly slammed his hands onto the table, causing one of the male students to squeak in fear.

"So who are you dipshits…!?" Kanji growled loudly. The male student's faces paled a very unhealthy white, and without hesitation they ran and was out of sight within a matter of seconds. Kanji stood up straight again as he walked back over to our table. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that Nise was looking terrified, Yukiko looking rather surprised, and Hanamura looked as if he was ready to run with the other male students. Thankfully though, they were all able to regain their composure rather quickly.

"Feh… Boring" Kanji scoffed as he sat down in his seat.

"I can't stand it!" Nise sighed with a frustrated tone as he rested his chin on the table. "Sure, they have no idea it's related to the murders, but still… How can they talk about their schoolmate like that?"

"It's not hard really… All they need is a some big rumor, positive or negative, and then bam. You got yourself a pair of mouths just like those around the school. They're like onlookers at a car crash. As long as it's not happening to them, they're dying to see..." I muttered, closing my eyes. I remember back in the day when the second accident first happened. Everyone blamed her, when really they should have blamed me… After all, it was my fault for the first incident.

"Damn, this sucks…" Hanamura began, causing me to open my eyes and look at him. "We don't even know who's gonna be targeted anymore."

"This case disproved our assumption that all the victims are female..." Yukiko pointed out.

"What was the other thing we thought they had in common?" Nise asked, raising an eyebrow.

"People involved in the initial case, about Ms. Yamano, are the targets…" Yukiko answered. "How about that?" I sighed softly as I shook my head, picking up my earl tea that sat in front of me.

"I don't think it holds up" I began, catching the other's attention. "It stills leaves a question as to why the killer would target children when their mothers were the ones who were involved with that announcer…"

"You guys sayin' you don't have any clues?" Kanji asked, catching my attention. I took a sip of my tea as I looked down, feeling somewhat ashamed for not thinking of something.

"Pretty much," Hanamura replied. Kanji smiled as he reached inside one of his pockets.

"Well listen up, 'cause I got somethin' big" Kanji snickered, looking victorious as he pulled out a piece of paper.

"What's that?" Hanamura asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Okay, when I made my comeback at school today, there was an annoying brat hanging around," Kanji began. "Turns out he was snooping around about Senpai's and my disappearance, so I took this from him. I dunno what the hell this all is, though." I blinked in surprise, curious as to what Kanji had received.

"You took it anyway?" Hanamura asked with a rather bored tone.

"It's not really helping with your image," Nise remarked. Kanji glared at Hanamura and Nise, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Well, he ran off and dropped it, so what else was I supposed to do?" Kanji scowled. "It's not like I took it by force." I placed my tea back down in front of me and stretched out a hand to him.

"Please, may I see it?" I asked. Kanji looked at me and nodded, handing me the paper. With a soft sigh, I quickly scanned over it. I blinked a few times in surprise as I read several lists, one list showing familiar names. Another one seemed to have a list of… Television programs?

"Mayumi Yamano 4/11, Saki Konishi 4/13…" I began, as I read the list out loud for the others to hear. Possibly upon hearing Konishi's name, Hanamura leaned over to me and gently pulled at one corner of the paper to read it.

"What are these dates?" Hanamura questioned. "April 11th…?" I tilted my head slightly to the side- opposite of Hanamura's- finding this date rather…

"Oh, they found the first body on the day school started, so that would have been… the 12th. The 11th is the day before that…" Nise pointed out. I nodded slowly, now knowing why that date stuck out to me. It was the day when I first arrived to Inaba.

"I know I can't forget the day Saki-senpai's body was found…" Hanamura muttered, a sad look on his face. "That was the 15th. So, what are these dates? And what does 'List of TV programs' mean? What's 'Saki Konishi, April 13th'…?"

"Was it her birthday?" Nise asked.

"No, it was sometime around November… November 6th, I believe" Hanamura replied. There was a moment of silence as I stared at the numbers and the names. Konishi's body was found on the 15th… Two days later from the 13th… What happened on the 13th? If Miss Yamano was found on the 12th, a day before the 13th then-

I gasped as my eyes widened slightly, an idea popping into my head.

"April 13th… That was the day Konishi-senpai was on TV" I said, catching everyone's attention.

"I see… Yeah, there's no doubt about it" Hanamura rambled, quickly catching on.

"Oh yeah…" Nise began as he nodded. "I saw that, too. They were interviewing her 'cause she found the first body." Yukiko scooted closer to me and leaned over to look at the paper.

"Then this part… 'Mayumi Yamano, April 11th.' Is that the day she appeared on TV, too…?" Yukiko guessed.

"Oh, she was on!" Nise exclaimed. "I remember now! That was when the affair hit the news!" I nodded quickly in agreement.

"Yeah, the affair was all over the news in the city as well. I remember because it was the day I arrived in Inaba!" I gasped softly as I realized something, turning my attention now to Yukiko

"Yukiko-chan, didn't you get interviewed too? When did that interview air?!" I asked, rather excited. We're starting to pick up on something here…!

"I-I think it was when I was absent from school…" Yukiko began as she furrowed her eyebrows. "Um… I went shopping that day so... April 15th! And right after that, I was kidnapped."

"Kanji!" Hanamura exclaimed, everyone's attention turning over to Kanji- who had at some point resumed eating. "What about the television special you were on?!"

"Oh yeah, that thing…" Kanji huffed, swallowing his food. "Damn show made my mom go ape shit on me and…"

"The date!" Hanamura demanded. "Just tell us the date!"

"Uhhh, I don't remember the exact date… But it wasn't too long after I met you guys." Kanji stammered a bit, staring wide-eyed at Hanamura.

"Then it's true…" Hanamura mused. "Everyone was on TV before they disappeared."

"So, you think the killer's targeting people he sees on TV…?" Nise asked, raising an eyebrow as he finally got his head off the table.

"I was so caught up with the news reports about the incidents that I didn't notice at all…" Yukiko admitted, looking rather shocked.

"It can't be a coincidence…" I remarked as I took a quick sip of tea. It would certainly make sense as to another question I had asked myself… "After we had saved Yukiko-chan, I was rather confused as to why the killer moved on from her and went on to his next victim. Yukiko-chan's body wasn't reported as being found deceased, and yet he still continued on… So maybe this 'being on TV' thing is some rule that the killer's following."

"That's true…" Nise agreed, nodding slowly. "The killer could have targeted the same victim again…"

"I think there's a definite connection here between the kidnappings and the TV broadcasts," Hanamura stated. "The victims weren't just involved with the first case. They were also shown on the mass media." Everyone, except for Kanji who looked rather confused, nodded in agreement at this.

"That must be it…" Nise said. Hanamura sighed heavily, catching my attention. I looked over at him and he looked over at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"This still doesn't make any sense… What's the motive? Why kill someone just because they were on TV?" Hanamura asked. I flinched at his questions and glanced down. He raised a good point…

"Oh no... Now that I think about it, we haven't gotten anywhere! Why can't I be smarter…?!" I muttered, sighing just as heavily now as I placed my head onto the table like Nise had done earlier.

"Dude, why beat yourself up?" Kanji asked, catching my attention. He was smiling a little as he raised an eyebrow, a slight blush on his cheeks.

"I think you guys are awesome. I mean, you guys noticed what was happening to me and even risked your lives to stop it. That's more than enough" Kanji pointed out. I felt someone begin to stroke my head, causing me to look over to Yukiko, who was the source.

"You rescued me, too. We may not have solved the mystery, but we've saved two people already" Yukiko said reassuringly. I puffed out my cheeks slightly, glancing down.

"That's true, but…" I grumbled.

"Narukami-chan, you don't have to take on the entire blame by yourself…!" Hanamura began, catching my attention. "After all, we have like five- or rather four- working heads right now and still can't come up with anything! Must we remind you that you're the one who seems to be putting the stuff together the fastest? You're the one who brings up the really thought provoking questions about the case."

"He's right" Yukiko began, sitting me up straight by pushing my shoulders. "What's more, everyone's deduction that Kanji-kun might be next was right on the nose." Yukiko smiled reassuringly at me, causing a warm feeling to wash over me. At times like this, Yukiko reminds me of an older sister.

"Ugh, I know! We were so close" Nise whined.

"Huh? You knew before it happened? Damn, I wish you guys'd come a little earlier, then...!" Kanji scoffed, catching our attention. I blinked nervously at this, rubbing the back of my head.

"Um, actually Kanji-kun… That's why we went to your place" I pointed out, causing Kanji to blink in surprise. His face suddenly became red in realization as he looked down and fiddled with his food that was more or less finished.

"Well, if we know this much, I think we can outsmart the killer next time," Nise pointed out. "Then it's a countdown to their arrest."

"Don't forget, it's always possible that Tatsumi-kun was the last target," Yukiko suggested, a wishing look on her face.

"Or so we hope…" Hanamura began with a grimace. "We've thwarted them twice already. Here's hoping the killer's learned their lesson by now. Anyways, let's keep checking the Midnight Channel like usual when it rains." Everyone nodded in agreement at Hanamura's words. I sighed silently, still feeling a bit dumb for not being able to solve this case more quickly and took a sip of tea.

"That reminds me…" Nise began. "The school camp out is next week. I hope it doesn't rain. It's for both the first-year and second-year students, so we'll see you there, Kanji." Kanji made a bored face as he turned his attention over to Nise.

"Seriously? School, huh…? What a drag…" Kanji sighed. "Yo, mind if I order another grilled steak? I'm gonna finish this one up while the next one's on the grill. We're… going Dutch on the meal, right?" I blinked nervously at Kanji's question. What does "dutch on the meal" even mean?

"Well, let's get going." Nise began, seeming to have ignored Kanji. "I think our new teammate needs to meet Mrs. Bear." I nodded and finished my tea as everyone, except for Kanji stood up.

"Huh? What's up?" Kanji asked, looking a little perplexed. " Fine, whatever…I'll go for something cheap, like ramen. Wait, or should I get a takoyaki set…? Man, I can't decide."

"None of it" Yukiko said bluntly. Kanji stood up in surprise, looking as if he had just seen someone die.

"Whaaat?!" Kanji exclaimed. The others laughed a little at this as we began to make our way to the electronics department, a very confused and sad Kanji sulking behind us.

* * *

I was holding onto Yukiko's sleeve as she walked slowly towards Berry. Because my glasses were broken, I felt a little nervous to go into the TV world. Hanamura offered to be my guide for the short time that we were going to be in there, but I had to decline since Hanamura still doesn't know how to land properly. Since it was Kanji's first time, Kanji was a bit surprised and didn't move after entering the television, causing Hanamura to land on him. I heard Nise begin to tease Hanamura, as Kanji shouted at Hanamura for landing on him, the trio going into a strange argumentative circle.

"Sensei~!" Berry chirped happily as she practically jumped on me. I gave Berry a slight squeeze as she got off of me.

"Sensei, I fixed your glasses while you were away! They're as good as new!" Berry chirped, pulling out a new pair of my old glasses. I grabbed them and put them on, letting out a sigh of relief once it became a lot easier to see. I looked over to Yukiko and nodded- doing the same to Berry- causing the two to smile.

"Hey, I remember you…" I heard Kanji say as he walked towards Berry. "You're a bear, right…?"

"Berry is a bear!" Berry giggled. Kanji nodded, but immediately stopped.

"Hey, why ARE you a bear?" Kanji asked. Berry puffed out her cheeks as she pouted a little.

"Berry is Berry, so if Berry is a bear, then Berry is a bear!" Berry whined. I blinked in surprise at Berry's unconscious knowledge. I don't know is she knows that she just used transitive property of equality. Kanji looked over to Yukiko and I with an arched eyebrow.

"You guys have any idea?" Kanji asked. I shook my head as I looked over at Berry.

"Nope," Yukiko replied. "We're just as clueless as you."

"Berry still doesn't know why Berry is Berry, though…" Berry sighed, seeming a little sad. "So I've been wondering myself…"

"I-It's kinda cute…M-Mind if I pet you?" Kanji asked, a bit embarrassed as a pink tinged his cheeks. Berry giggled happily as she swayed from side to side.

"Of course! Nice and cute guys can pet me! Oh, and also can Sensei!" Berry giggled embarrassed. Kanji blushed a bit harder than before as he froze. I felt the warm feeling wash over me as I walked over to berry and petted her soft fur.

"Hehe, looks like Berry likes you!" Yukiko giggled.

"Hey, hold up!" I heard Hanamura began, catching my attention. "'Nice and cute guys'? Why is it everytime _I_ try to pet you, you run away and give me a look?!" Berry puffed out her cheeks as she hugged me.

"Because Perv-suke's a big pervert! Mean perverts can't touch me or any girl for that matter! I still remember what you did, you big pervert!" Berry shouted a little, sticking out her tongue in the end. She must be talking about the time that Hanamura had ripped off her head. Kanji's eyes widened as he looked over to Hanamura, Nise giving Hanamura a strange look.

"Uh… What did you do?" Kanji and Nise asked at the same time, causing Hanamura to blush in embarrassment. Yukiko must have found this funny because she soon started to chuckle.

"Oh… by the way, I've been wondering. You were kidnapped too, right, Yukiko-senpai?" Kanji asked, turning his attention over to Yukiko. Yukiko stopped chuckling, caught off guard by Kanji's question.

"Huh…? Yeah, it wasn't long before you" Yukiko replied, a bit nervously.

"So like, that means you came out to everyone too?" Kanji asked. I blinked in surprise as I glanced between Yukiko and Kanji. I believe that the question was innocent, but it was also rather ambiguous. Yukiko must have found it more ambiguous than innocent, since she stared at the poor boy in surprise and slight embarrassment.

"Th-That's…Um…" Yukiko stammered.

"What was it like for Senpai—" Kanji began, only to be interrupted by Yukiko who slapped him right across the face. There was an echo once Yukiko's hand and Kanji's cheek touched, making Berry and I wince. Hanamura and Nise covered their mouths as they took a step back, a pained look on their faces.

"Urgh!" Kanji cringed as he tentatively placed his hand on the red hand print the left side of his face was now sporting.

"Oh, sorry…" Yukiko apologized, looking a bit sheepish. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard…"

"M-My jaw…!" Kanji stuttered, staring wide-eyed at Yukiko. He must have been rather shocked that someone like her was capable of hitting someone. Yukiko smiled reassuringly at Kanji.

"I'll be more gentle next time…" Yukiko said softly. A light blush tinged Kanji's cheeks.

"More…gentle…?" Kanji repeated, his face slowly turning red. Yukiko raised her hand again, causing Kanji to practically jump away from her for safety.

"What a pair of dimwits" Nise and Hanamura snickered, finding Kanji's reaction humorous.

"Oh yeah!" Berry began as she let go of me. "Here's a present from me, Kanji-kun! It's to celebrate you joining the team!" Kanji blinked as Berry held out a pair of glasses towards him.

"Ah, so these are the glasses you guys told me about" Kanji said as he looked at all of us, noticing the glasses that everyone was wearing.

"Hurry and put them on" Yukiko encouraged, a big smile on her face.

"Huh?" Kanji blinked with a nod. "S-Sure…But hang on, aren't these different from everyone else's?" I blinked in surprise at Kanji's question. He took the glasses from Berry and put them on, causing me to deadpan. Soon, Yukiko started giggling.

"I-It looks perfect on you…" Yukiko said, struggling to keep her laughter at bay. Of course, it was only a matter of seconds before Yukiko broke into a fit of laughter. The sight of the gag glasses on Kanji's face was enough to make Hanamura and Nise to laugh.

"Haha, damn, dude. It looks great on you!" Hanamura laughed. Kanji said nothing and just turned to Berry and me.

"I had a normal pair ready for you. But Yuki-chan insisted on this one. She wouldn't budge!" Berry explained, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, real funny, you smartass!" Kanji scowled as he pulled off his glasses and threw them forcefully at Berry. Berry squeaked as something fell on the floor and hid behind my legs, tears in her eyes.

"Wh-Why are you taking it out on me?! I thought you were a nice bear!" Berry squeaked, her voice cracking as she looked at Kanji. Kanji huffed as he grabbed the glasses that Berry had dropped. Although, he ended up wearing another pair of gag glasses. Kanji and myself was not amused… But Yukiko sure was. Yukiko laughed uncontrollably, her unique laughter echoing far and wide the space we were in. I'd be slightly nervous about the shadows finding us, but then I remembered that they don't necessarily come here for some reason.

"You took my spare pair…!" Berry remarked, coming out from behind my legs. "Kanji-kun, you must really like those!" Kanji scowled as everyone laughed, except for me. Kanji pulled off the gag glasses and threw them as far away as he could into the yellow fog-filled abyss, effectively losing them in the process. It was safe to say that no one would ever find those gag glasses again…that pair, at least. I looked over to Berry and patted her head.

"Come on now, Berry. Why don't you give Kanji-kun his real glasses now?" I said, gently pushing her forward. Berry nodded obediently and pulled out a pair of glasses as she approached Kanji.

"This is the real one!" Berry chirped, handed Kanji a pair of sunglasses. "It wasn't easy getting it to you." Kanji huffed as he put on his glasses.

"Why the hell did you bother making a spare if it's more useless crap…?!" Kanji growled as he glared at Berry. "Dammit! I'll get you guys for this someday! Except for you Narukami-senpai." The others continued to laugh as I nodded at Kanji. I feel as though we had all bonded today.

* * *

 _Evening…_

I returned to the Dojima residence rather early today to avoid getting Kanji to excited and hurting himself. Opening and closing the door upon entering the house, I placed my bag down onto the floor and began to remove my shoes. As I removed my shoes, I could smell the scent of coffee in the air. Is Nanako making coffee?

Once my shoes were off, I walked inside the house and saw Dojima standing in front of a coffee making in the kitchen. Without saying anything, I picked up my bag and placed it next to the stairs leading up to my room. Looking around, I noticed that the television was off and Nanako wasn't sitting in front of it. Perhaps she's using the bathroom. More interested in Dojima's early presences, I turned around and walked towards him, catching his attention.

"So you're home. Welcome back, Hitomi" Dojima greeted with an unusual big smile. I nodded hello and looked at the hot water maker. Is he making instant noodles or something?

"Oh, this?" Dojima began, catching my attention. "I was just thinking of making some coffee. All we got is instant though. Want some?" I nodded in reply. I wasn't a big fan of coffee- being more of a tea girl- but I didn't necessarily hate it. Dojima's smile grew bigger as he walked over to the drawer with the cups and pulled out a plain white one for me.

"How do you take it? With cream, sugar, or both?" Dojima asked as he set down the cup and pulled out a spoon from a nearby drawer. I thought about it for a moment. There was a big difference between tea and coffee for me: while I can usually drink tea by itself depending on the type, the only cup of coffee I have ever drank before was decaffeinated and had cream in it. Maybe I should go for cream and sugar? Hm, but if Dojima accidentally puts too much, it won't taste like coffee anymore. With a soft sigh, I rubbed the back of my head.

"Black is fine. It's the easiest to make in this situation" I said with a hint of exhaustion. Dojima laughed at my reply, his smile looking rather blinding.

"Just like me, huh? Black is the only way to go since it's the easiest to make!" Dojima laughed. I felt the corners of my lips twitch at his explanation. Somehow, I had a feeling that he would be the type of man who preferred to have his coffee plain. As Dojima smiled once more at me, I heard the sound of a door opening, catching my attention. I looked behind me and saw Nanako happily exiting her room. When she saw me, she smiled happily and ran over to me.

"Hey, welcome home Big Sis!" Nanako greeted with a giggle. I nodded hello and patted the top of her head. Nanako looked over to Dojima and smiled.

"Daddy, don't forget to put lots of cream and sugar in my coffee, okay?" Nanako reminded. Dojima laughed and nodded, pulling out a jar that held the sugar. Nanako cheered and rushed over to the television, announcing that she'll turn it on and switch it to the news. Dojima turned to me and smiled with a nod.

"Go ahead and watch T.V with Nanako. I'll bring you the coffee when it's finished" Dojima instructed. I blinked in surprise by his instructions and nervously waved my hands in front of my face.

"You don't have to do that. Three cups is a lot for one person, just let me know when my cup is done and I'll get it myself" I replied. I would feel awful for making him go through all the trouble. Dojima's smile ceased a little bit, looking a bit disappointed- or perhaps even slightly annoyed.

"Don't worry about it, I'll use a tray to carry the cups over" Dojima began. "Sheesh, at times like this I wonder if you really are just 16." I felt myself blush in embarrassment and scratch my right cheek. Noticing my reaction, Dojima's smile turned warm as he chuckled and patted my shoulder.

"I'm just kidding. Seriously though, it's okay. Making the coffee is my only job around here" Dojima began with a gentle smile. "When I got married, Nanako's mother made me promise one thing: she said this is all I have to do around the house. But nobody else can do it." Dojima removed his hand from my shoulder and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"So, well… you know. It's a bit of a habit now" Dojima explained, looking a bit embarrassed. After a moment, Dojima's hand behind his head slid down to the side of his neck as his smile turned more into a grimace.

"This is the only promise I can really keep these days..." Dojima muttered. I blinked in surprise by Dojima's words. He must be still suffering over the loss of his wife… Not that I can blame him. I've lost a lot of people myself, so it makes sense that it would take him a while to get used to being a single father. Dojima shook his head and turned his attention back towards the water boiler.

"Well… anyway. Sit over there" Dojima instructed without looking back over to me. I nodded in obedience and walked over to the spot where I usually sat. I had seen an unexpected side of Dojima today and got to learn a bit about him. Although the night wasn't as exciting as I would have thought, I did feel as if I had grown stronger with the Dojima family.

* * *

 _Tuesday, June 7th_ | _Lunch..._

The next day after Kanji had returned to school, the day had gone by without too much excitement. That is, until lunch came around. The moment the teacher left the room, Hanamura and Nise both encouraged Yukiko and myself to eat upstairs on the roof with them. Yukiko didn't mind and easily agreed, while it took me a cup of noodles to make me move. I didn't ask them to buy me the bowl of noodles, but I didn't want to move around too much due to my sore body. Upon hearing my excuse of being sore, Yukiko asked- or rather, _demanded_ gently- to buy everyone instant noodles for lunch. I tried to tell them that I would be okay with just my bread, but it was already too late leaving me with no choice but to go up to the roof and eat my noodles there.

One the roof, I sat beside Yukiko on the roof where I usually sat while Hanamura stood next to Nise who was sitting in his usual spot. Nise took a happy bite out of his noodles, loudly slurping them to his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, Nise let out a hearty laugh- startling those nearby.

"Oh man! When it's boiling hot outside a bowl of steaming noodles is the absolute best!" Nise cheered, definitely enjoying his lunch. Yukiko nodded in agreement.

"It is nice and sultry" Yukiko added. Yukiko looked over to me and smiled.

"Are the noodles helping you, Hitomi-chan? Do you feel refreshed?" Yukiko asked. I scratched my right cheek nervously.

"Well, it's tasty and is rather nice on a hot day like Nise-kun said. Although, it's making me more hot than anything" I explained nervously, fanning myself with my right hand. Yukiko giggled happily, fanning me with her own hand to help.

"Dude, this like- totally rocks, right?" Hanamura sighed, causing Nise to chuckle in reply. Yukiko and I stopped fanning and turn our attention at the boys. The two were smiling mischievously at each other, slightly red in the face.

"Wait a sec, what does?" Yukiko asked. Hanamura looked over at us and smiled brightly.

"Uh, summer clothes~!" Hanamura replied with a sly grin, his tone sounding as if her question was foolish. I blinked in surprise and looked down at my clothes. It was a little early, but starting today we were supposed to start wearing summer clothes. My winter uniform that contained a dark gray sailor top with a yellow stash, white long-sleeved turtleneck, and a pair of blank pantyhose has changed to a white and dark gray sailor top with short sleeves, a short dark gray skirt, and knee high socks. Yukiko's uniform was virtually the same, save for that she doesn't wear pantyhose with a smaller sweater and unbuttoned. Nise had his usual green jacket tied around his waist- and much similar to Hanamura- wasn't wearing his dark gray jacket. Hanamura wore his headphones around his neck like always, the plugs tucked away into his pocket- and at the ends of his short sleeves was a stripe of orange. Becoming slightly self-conscious of all the skin I'm showing, I cross my legs together while tugging my skirt down slightly.

"You've got a weird pervy look in your eyes, and that sounded kinda creepy..." Yukiko muttered, looking at Nise and Hanamura in suspicion. I looked over at the two, just in time to see their faces become a bit more red and blink nervously. Yukiko looked as if she was about to attack them. Worried for Nise and Hanamura's well being, I cleared my throat to catch the group's attention.

"To change the subject," I began, gently stirring my noodles, "It appears like the rainy season is coming." Yukiko exclaimed in realization, nodding in agreement. Hanamura's red faced returned back to normal as he blinked in surprise.

"Isn't it a little early?" Hanamura asked. I shrugged in reply. I wasn't sure myself since I accidentally came across it on my way to school this morning.  
"Once it starts, it'll be raining every night," Yukiko explained. "We'll have to keep a constant eye on the Midnight Channel." Hanamura sighed in slight annoyance and frustration, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"Crap, I didn't even think of that…" Hanamura muttered. "Well, so it goes. Hehe, I thought you were worried about the rain 'cause of the school campout." I blinked in surprise as I recalled about the school camp out, feeling a warm sensation flow over me. Nise arched a brow at Hanamura as he bit onto the tips of his chopsticks.

"Why are you so excited about that?" Nise asked in a bored tone through the chopsticks in his mouth. Excited… I look forward, dazed as the word echoed in my head. I repeated the words to myself several times before realizing that I too was excited about the trip. The corners of my mouth twitched once I realized and turned my attention back to the group.  
"I'm… excited about the trip too. I think… it'll be lots of fun" I explained slowly, causing the boys to blush slightly as Yukiko looked at me in realization.  
"Oh that's right, it's the first time for you two…" Yukiko muttered. She flashed me an apologetic smile and patted my shoulder, causing me to blink twice in surprise.  
"Hate to break it to ya, but you guys do realize the only purpose of the school camp out is to 'develop a love for one's hometown in young people,' right?" Nise asked, catching everyone's attention.  
"Yeah, they tell us that up front. So?" Hanamura asked as he nodded, unsure where Nise was going. Nise hesitated for a moment as he glanced over at me for a moment before sighing.  
"Well you see, the way we supposedly develop that love is by picking up trash off the mountain" Nise explained, causing Hanamura and I to flinch.  
"P-Picking up trash?" Hanamura exclaimed, his initial excitement quickly diminishing. "'Develop a love' my ass! That's slave labor!" I looked down at my bowl of noodles and fiddled with a piece of leek.  
"Sounds like it could be fun…" I muttered as I felt my face heat up. I think it's nice for the town to try and do things like that. It certainly makes Japan cleaner.

"Well, if you like doing labor" Nise teased, causing my face to heat up even more. "Although, the night's kinda fun. We buy our own ingredients and cook our own meals. We also get to sleep in tents."  
"The four of us are in the same group," Yukiko added. I blinked in surprise and looked over to the trio besides me. The four of us? Doesn't that mean… Before I could finish my thoughts, we noticed that Hanamura had a strange sparkle in his eyes.

"The same group, huh...? Does that mean we sleep together at night, too!?" Hanamura asked excitedly. I felt my face heat up to a whole new level of heat I have ever experienced before, my vision becoming slightly blurry.  
"Absolutely _not_! Guys and girls sleep in different tents!" Yukiko announced, glaring at Hanamura. Hanamura became disappointed as Nise nervously stared at his bowl of noodles.

"Hanamura, give it up. I'm warning ya from near experience…If you leave your tent at night, you'll be expelled on the spot" Nise explained, sounding nervous.

"Ugh…" Hanamura grumbled as he sat down beside Nise. "This gets worse and worse. I thought it was gonna be fun…" Well, I personally think it's going to be fun.

"How long will it be?" I asked.  
"It's only for one night and we disband before noon the next day," Yukiko explained. "It doesn't last very long." I nodded slowly, taking in the information. It didn't really seem all that bad, but it sort of seems like a waste of the school's money. I turned my attention towards my noodles and began to eat again, Yukiko seemingly copying my actions.  
"Oh…" Nise began, recalling something. "We did have some fun at the river before going home last year."  
"Do they let you go swimming?" Hanamura immediately asked, causing Nise to blink in surprise. Nise crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, a puzzling look on his face as he tried to remember.

"I think so? There's always someone who takes a dip- Oh..." Nise suddenly stopped talking as he realized something. He and Hanamura looked at each other with rather sly looks on their faces, wide grins practically eating their faces. Yukiko and I exchanged perplexed expressions on the two boy's actions, but decided to leave it alone for now since lunch was almost over and we still had to finish our food. The four of us ate in silence, the boys seemingly happy.

* * *

 _Tuesday, June 8th_ | _Morning..._

"It's June already, eh?" Kondo began, laughing happily as he stared out the window. Kondo looked back towards the class and placed his hands onto his hips. "Well, good news! Tatsumi-kun from the first year is back with us, so try to set good examples!" Some students, such as myself, nodded in obedience while a few students coughed in response to Kondo's suggestion.  
"I know it's the rainy season, and you may not be very motivated, but let's keep our spirits up together, okay!?" Kondo instructed as he raised his voice for some unknown reason. Perhaps some students had fallen asleep? Or maybe it's because he's just a loud person overall.

"Anyway, I really hate this weather since I can't go out and exercise! But watching sports on TV isn't bad, either! I saw the heikin-dai competition the other day!" Kondo began with a laugh. "They do beautiful moves with a delicate sense of balance! Though, I can see why men would be afraid to try it! Hahahaha!" That statement earned a few chuckles from the girls and a few painful groans from the boys. "…Hey, Hitomi-chan?" I heard Yukiko ask. I looked over to Yukiko in surprise, noticing a look of confusion on her face. I hummed in reply.  
"What kind of sport is 'heikin-dai?'" Yukiko asked. I blinked in surprise at Yukiko's question, thinking that she would have been the type of girl who would appreciate the sport. Yukiko did look the part for it anyway.

"Heikin-dai is balance beam" I replied bluntly.  
"Wow, I'm amazed you knew that, Narukami-chan!" Kondo suddenly called out, causing Yukiko and I to flinch and turn our attentions back to him. "But you should ask me if you have questions, Amagi-chan, not her! Balance beam is 'Heikin-dai' in Japanese! I bet when you kids hear the word 'beam' you think about lasers or something, but it refers to the timber, or beam. And balancing on a wooden beam is mighty tricky…Boom, the sport of balance beam is born."  
"Oh, I never really thought of it that way. Interesting!" Yukiko muttered, sounding amazed. She turned back over to me and smiled.

"You're very smart, Hitomi-chan. Thank you" Yukiko said with a nod.  
"No problem" I replied with a nod as well.

* * *

 _After school..._

I was taking my time in packing up as usual, thinking about what to do today. I could always see if Kanji is willing to hang out, but maybe he doesn't want to get too involved with me alone just yet. There was always Nise who's consistently free. Glancing over to the brown haired boy, I noticed that he was staring at his iPhone with a rather confused look. Huh… He must have got some plans at the last minute. Well, I guess that means I'm left with going straight home today. Maybe I should practice my origami cranes again. Certainly a lot more entertaining than _studying_. Once I finished packing, I got up from my seat and began to make my way to the back door- only to stop when I noticed Hanamura looking intensely at his iPhone. Curious, I stopped beside him and placed a hand on my hip.

"Hanamura, are you alright? You look really tense" I pointed out, causing Hanamura to flinch. He looked up at me and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. I blinked in surprise at this, waiting for an explanation. But once I realized that Hanamura wasn't going to stop laughing nervously like a broken record anytime soon, I let out a small sigh and walked out the classroom.

Heading down the stairs to the first floor, I spotted a familiar head of bleach blonde. It was Kanji who was wearing a black tank top with a flaming skull design, no longer wearing the school uniform jacket. Noticing me, Kanji stopped in his tracks as I approached him.

"Hello, Kanji-kun" I greeted.

"'Sup" Kanji replied bluntly, a small smile curling on his lips. "Headin' home?"

"Yeah, I don't have anything to do today. It seems as if Hanamura and Nise-kun are busy" I replied. Kanji blinked in surprise as if realizing something.

"Hey, uh, are they still up in your classroom? Class 2-2, right?" Kanji asked, as he started to turn his attention towards the stairs.

"Yeah, they're still there. If you go now, you might be able to reach them" I suggested. Kanji nodded a thank you to me and started to make his way up the stairs. I couldn't help but stare after him in mild curiosity. What did he want with Hanamura and Nise? Maybe he found out that they aren't very comfortable with him and is going to set things straight? After a moment of guessing, I shrugged in defeat, turned around and walked towards my shoe locker. Hm… Now that I think about it, I haven't cooked dinner for the Dojima family in a while… Maybe I should stop by Junes and buy enough ingredients to make something. Should I make donburi? Ramen? Tonkatsu? Or maybe Nikujaga. As my fingers touched the cold metal of my shoe locker, I gasped in surprise. I left my list of ingredients for the camp out in my desk. With a small sigh, I turned around and headed back towards my classroom.

When I arrived to the classroom, I noticed that Kanji and Nise were standing in front of Hanamura- the trio talking intensely about something. I couldn't help but blink in surprise at the intense but silly atmosphere surrounding the trio. I approached the small group, making my presences unknown to them.

"So what do you guys say? You two in?" Hanamura asked, a serious grin on his face. Nise and Kanji sighed, as if they had given in to a child's tantrum.

"I'm sticking with my bike for now, thanks" Kanji replied bluntly.

"I'm not gonna be able to afford anything _close_ to that anytime soon. No luck man" Nise sighed. Hanamura whimpered at their replies, tiny fake tears in his eyes.

"Come on you guys! What about the 'Up Close and Personal' plan...?!" Hanamura whined. I tilted my head slightly at those words, thinking it was about time to speak up.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked, causing the trio to yelp in surprise.

"N-Narukami-chan! Wh-When did you get here?!" Nise exclaimed, clearly surprised as he and Kanji took a step away from me.

"I just got here. I forgot something in my desk, so I had to come back to get it. That's when I noticed you three talking and..." my words slowly trailed off as I noticed that the trio were all looking not exactly at my face but slightly below my chin. I blinked in surprise and slight confusion as I felt my face heat up for some reason. The boy's faces became red as they all looked at each other, Kanji having a more embarrassed expression, Nise having a more angry expression, and Hanamura was for some reason crying tears of... joy?

"I told you guys! With a pair like that pressed up, it would _definitely_ feel like a squeeze play!" Hanamura sobbed happily, seeming satisfied.

"Damnit Yosuke, you're turning us into squeeze play perverts!" Nise growled, his teeth tightly clenched together. I stared at the duo in surprise as they began to argue about something. Wanting to learn what the context was, I looked at Kanji and poked his arm, causing him to look at me and freeze up.

"I'm a bit confused. Just what were you three talking about, Kanji-kun?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. Kanji stuttered some strange sounds as his face gradually became redder.

"I'M SORRY SENPAI, PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEEEEEE!" Kanji screamed as he suddenly turned around and dashed out of the classroom. I blinked rapidly in surprise as I extended a hand out after him.

"Ah, wait- Kanji-kun!" I called out. But it was no use- he was already out of the building most likely. After a moment of silence, I turned my attention over to Nise and Hanamura who were staring at the door in surprise.

"Nise-kun," I began, causing Nise to flinch in surprise as the two looked at me, "What were you guys talking about? Something about 'squeeze play perverts'? Is that a new show or something?" Hanamura and Nise's face became red at my words, a small gasp coming from Nise. There was a pause of silence between three of us when suddenly- Nise's nose began to bleed. Surprised by his now bleeding nose, Nise cupped his nose with both of his hands.

"Shit!" Nise exclaimed. "I, uh, I-I gotta go! See you guys tomorrow!" Before Hanamura or myself could say anything, Nise ran out of the room- throwing apologizes at people he bumped into. After Nise left, I turned to face Hanamura who flinched once our eyes met.

"Is… Is 'squeeze play perverts' an adult themed show?" I asked, becoming more and more confused as to why the guys were suddenly leaving. Hanamura placed his hands on my shoulders with an embarrassed look on his face.

"P-Please stop saying that, Narukami-chan. Seriously, just stop" Hanamura whimpered. Confused, I nodded in obedience. Hanamura let out a sigh as he removed his hands from my shoulders.

"If you must know..." Hanamura began, "the three of us were talking about motorcycles." I blinked in surprise at the news as I walked towards my desk.

"Motorcycles? Are you all planning on getting one?" I asked as I began to search my desk.

"Well it turns out that Kanji's still too young to get one. And I can't afford anything bigger than a scooter on my budget. Nise on the other hand can't even buy that" Hanamura explained. I hummed in reply before I finally found my list, stuffing it into my bag.

"Scooters, huh?" I began as I turned to face Hanamura who had his arms cross. "That could be pretty convenient. We'd be able to go to new places." Hanamura smiled and nodded.

"Exactly! Don't you think we deserve that much, seeing as how we're investigating the case?" Hanamura asked. Hanamura suddenly gasped as he uncrossed his arms, looking excited.

"Hey! Why don't you and I _both_ get our licenses tomorrow after school?! I have a handbook I can give you to study!" Hanamura exclaimed as he pulled out a handbook from his orange book bag. I took the book from his hands and stared at it in curiosity.

It wouldn't be so bad to have a scooter… But with my fear of bike handles, will I even be able to ride one? I don't know if I'm afraid to touch bike handles since my fear is more on getting smashed in the face by one. Hm… Maybe I can find a cute racer helmet or something to cover my head. After internally debating about this for a few minutes, I finally decided to take up Hanamura's offer.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. It certainly sounds like a lot of fun" I said with a nod. Hanamura laughed happily, looking excited.

"Awesome! In that case, make sure you talk to your uncle about getting a license, okay?" Hanamura instructed. I nodded in reply. The two of us began to talk about getting our licences as Hanamura and I walked home, just before parting ways when Hanamura received a call about having to work today. With an important discussion at hand with Dojima, I decided to walk straight back to the Dojima residence.

* * *

 _Evening..._

I opened the door to the Dojima residence, instantly removing my shoes. As I was walking home it had began to rain, much to my surprise. Thankfully I wasn't too soaked but my shoes, hair, skirt and legs were more wet than anything. I held my bag to my chest as I ran home, which protected my shirt from getting wet. I placed my wet school bag to the wall and sat down on the wooden floor above the cement, staring to remove my wet socks. Once my socks were removed, I walked inside the house and noticed Dojima as well as a familiar face sitting at the living room table, eating what seemed to have been take-out. They seemed to be talking about something so I decided to take this moment and head to the bathroom and grab myself a towel and dry my legs and hair. Once I was moderately dry, I walked out of the bathroom and approached the two men, catching your attention.

"Ah, you're back!" Dojima exclaimed.

"Hi there!" Adachi greeted with a smile. I nodded a simple hello in reply.

"Hm? What's with the towel?" Dojima asked as I took a seat at my normal spot, across from Adachi while tugging on my towel that I had left hanging on my shoulders.

"I arrived a little bit ago. But I went straight to the bathroom because I got wet by the sudden rain" I explained. Dojima hummed in now understanding, nodding.

"That sucks. Hey, you want some eel? Fair warning: it's from the supermarket" Adachi asked, his smile never leaving his face. I looked down at the contents on the table, noticing that it was indeed eel.

"Well, excuse me!" Dojima scoffed, sounding rather offended. I looked back up at the two men.

"I-It's delicious, though!" Adachi sputtered. "I can't believe it was on sale!" Dojima let out a short sigh before clearing his throat and turning his attention to me.

"Sorry, but this guy eats instant noodles every day. That constant slurping got on my nerves, so I called him here" Dojima explained. I nodded, understanding now why Adachi was here.

"You don't have to bluff like that" Adachi said as he smiled at Dojima. "You just wanted to eat dinner with a coworker, right?"

"Don't be stupid," Dojima said bluntly as he began to put eel, rice, and a few side dishes on a plate. Adachi laughed nervously at Dojima's bluntness, his smile still plastered on his face.

"But eel was a great choice!" Adachi exclaimed. "Nanako-chan loved it, at least. I'd say she's _eel-ly_ proud of her daddy! Eh? Ehhhh…? Haha…" Dojima sighed at Adachi's joke while I felt the corners of my lips twitch. That was a good one.

"Did my joke slip away? It is an eel, after all…" Adachi continued, a small frown on his face at the silence.

"Just eat your dinner" Dojima groaned, sounding as if he has had enough.

"Y-Yes, sir," Adachi replied in defeat. Dojima suddenly placed the plate that he had been filling with food in front of me. I nodded thank you to him as he handed me a pair of wooden chopsticks as well. Snapping the chopsticks apart, I began to eat.

"Nanako-chan's such a good girl, though. She went straight to do her homework once her plate was clean… It's not every day you get to eat eel. You'd think she would have spent some more time savoring it" Adachi began, changing the subject.

"You think that because you slack off too much," Dojima replied, almost harshly. "You should follow her example." Adachi winced at Dojima's words.

"Way to hit where it hurts…" Adachi muttered.

"Um, I don't think you slack off as Dojima puts it. Nanako is just a little mature for her age" I said to Adachi, trying to cheer him up. Adachi laughed nervously, looking a bit happy. Dojima and Adachi began to talk once again, debating if Nanako really is mature or if Adachi is just too lazy. I ate in silence, staring at Dojima. Even though I have been living here for about two months already, I'm still a bit shy in asking Dojima for things. How exactly should I tell him that I want to get a motorcycle license…?

"What's the matter?" Dojima suddenly asked, causing me to flinch. Sometime as I was thinking, Dojima and Adachi had stopped talking and turned their attention towards me. "…You have that look in your eyes…" I swallowed the food in my mouth, feeling my face heat up.

"Um… Well, I was thinking about getting a motorcycle license…" I began hesitantly. "But I wanted to talk to you first about it…"

"A motorcycle?" Dojima said questioningly. "You mean a scooter?" I nodded in reply. Dojima hummed in thought for a moment, a quizzical look on his face.

"Oh... That's right, kids your age can ride those" Dojima exclaimed. Oh, so he was trying to remember if I reached the age limit.

"I don't know, though…" Dojima muttered before taking a drink.

"C'mon, don't be a spoilsport!" Adachi grinned as he slapped Dojima on the back, causing him to cough and nearly spurt out his drink. "It's no surprise that Hitomi-chan wants one out here!" Adachi looked at me and smiled, pointing at himself.

"I understand how you feel, since I'm from the city myself" Adachi began, no longer pointing at himself, "The trains don't run that often, and walking around everywhere is pretty inconvenient, isn't it?" I didn't think that it was that bad, but I didn't want to seem rude so I nodded in agreement.

"Right? It's criminal!" Adachi laughed, a tinge of pink covering his cheeks.

"You say that, but…" Dojima muttered as he wiped his lips, sounding a bit uncertain. I felt my shoulder slump a little bit in slight disappointment, wondering if there is anything I could do to change his mind.

"That reminds me, I remember you telling me something once, Dojima-san," Adachi began, "About some of the reckless things you did on your motorcycle when you were young…" I gasped softly in surprise at the news, turning my attention to Adachi.

"You moron! Think before you talk! And once you're done eating, hurry and—" Dojima growled with an embarrassed expression and wide eyes. Suddenly, Dojima's cell phone began to ring.

"Ugh…" Dojima groan as he made a face. He stood up and distanced himself from Adachi and myself to make his call more private.

"It's me…hmm…" Dojima began. I turned my attention over to Adachi and leaned over the table, cupping the side of my face.

"Adachi-san, was Dojima really reckless on his motorcycle like you said?" I whispered, wanting to know. Adachi looked at me and blinked. Noticing my secretive talk, Adachi smiled and covered the side of his mouth to mirror me.

"Oh yeah, ironic isn't it? For a detective to be all loosey-goosey on a motorcycle" Adachi chuckled softly.

"Shut up!" Dojima growled, causing Adachi and I to continue eating once we were sitting properly.

"Uh s-sorry not you. I was just talking to Adachi. Anyway, we'll be there soon" Dojima said before ending the call and huffed. "Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze…" Dojima turned and looked at Adachi.

"Adachi, you were the one in charge of that file, right?" Dojima asked. Adachi blinked, looking slightly confused.

"File?" Adachi began before he gasped in realization, "Ohh…Did that suspicious guy show up again?"

"Would you keep your mouth shut?" Dojima said sternly. "We're going back. Get in the car."

"Back… you mean, to the station!?" Adachi exclaimed as he stared wide-eyed at Dojima. "But I haven't had my eel liver soup yet…" Dojima cut Adachi off with a glare, causing Adachi to jump out of his seat and quickly rush out the front door. Feeling a bit sorry for Adachi, I picked up his plate and quickly walked towards the kitchen where I pulled out a container. I neatly stuffed Adachi's leftovers into the container- making it almost appear as a bento- added some more eel bits and began to seal it.

"About this license…" Dojima began, catching my attention. He had a rather serious look on his face as he threw his black suit jacket over his left shoulder. "Did you decide on this yourself? No one talked you into it? I know it's hard without a way to get around. But two-wheeled vehicles can be dangerous…Do you understand?" My hands slowed down as I stared into Dojima's serious eyes. I wasn't all the bothered by the fact that it sounded as if Dojima didn't trust me, but I felt a tiny sting in my chest when I considered the fact that he might really _not_ trust me.

"I'll be careful with it" I replied confidently as my hands returned to tying the bag of Adachi's food.

"I'm sure I can trust you to do that" Dojima began with a nod, making that tiny sting in my chest disappear, "But allowing you to get one is something else…" My hands tightened the bag, sealing it carefully as I looked down at my feet. Shoot… There goes my chance of traveling easier… I felt a hand suddenly pat my shoulder, causing me to look over to Dojima who was smiling.

"Don't give me that face" Dojima began, "I know you're serious about this. First, you'll need a license. We can talk about this again when you have one." My eyes widened in surprise as I felt my cheeks heat up slightly. I have a chance! I have a chance! Dojima chuckled before ruffling my hair.

"Well, then…" Dojima sighed once he was done ruffling. "Sorry to dump this on you, but I need you to look after the house." I nodded in reply, earning a smile. Before Dojima could turn around and head towards the door, I handed Dojima the bag with Adachi's leftovers in it.

"This is Adachi-sans food that he didn't get to finish. Tell him I'm sorry for not packing the eel liver soup" I instructed gently to avoid sounding bossy. Dojima nodded with a smile and made his way out of the house. Once the door had closed behind him, I returned to the living room table and continued to eat.

Suddenly, I could hear my iPhone ringing. Sighing through my nose while chewing the food in my mouth, I crawled towards my wet bag where I had left my iPhone. Quickly taking it out, I saw that the caller was Hanamura. Pushing the answer button, I put my iPhone to my ear.

" _Yo, it's me! "_ Hanamura greeted before I could even say anything. _" How did it go with your uncle? I've been on the edge of my seat thinking about it!" _I said nothing at first since my mouth was full. Once I was done chewing, I quickly swallowed and stood up.

"He was okay with it," I replied. "Of course, I still have to talk it over with him after I get my license, but the path looks good so far."

" _Seriously!? "_ Hanamura exclaimed. _" Awesome! Oh man, I gotta hit the books! We gotta pass together tomorrow!"_ I nodded in agreement, despite the fact that Hanamura couldn't even see me nod. Hanamura said goodnight then hanged up. I stared at my iPhone's wallpaper which consisted of piano keys and music notes. Hanamura sounded really excited… He's even planning on studying. I looked over to my bag, wondering if I should do the same. After a minute of staring at my bag, I nodded to myself and decided to look through the manual Hanamura had given me while I ate the rest of my _eel-ly_ good dinner.

* * *

 _Wednesday, June 9th_ | _Early Morning..._

The early morning sun was harshly beating down on me today as I refreshed my memory on the things I had learned from the handbook.

"Mornin'..." a familiar voice greeted with a yawn. I blinked in surprise and looked over to my left, noticing a very tired Hanamura walking besides me. I couldn't help but blink in surprise and worry as Hanamura let out another yawn.

"You seem rather tired this morning" I pointed out. Hanamura sighed as he rubbed his eyes in a way I dare say cute.

"I went to bed, but little details kept bugging me, so I'd get up again to check the manual. It never ended… So I ended up getting almost no sleep at all…" Hanamura explained with a tiny whine. I patted his arm in comfort, causing him to smile and blush a little.

"Well, if we're gonna do this, let's pass on the first try. How're you feeling?" Hanamura asked.

"I'm not sure. I hope I do well," I admitted, feeling a bit nervous. Sure I studied hard, but what if I end up getting nervous and choose the wrong answer? Hanamura wrapped an arm around my neck and ruffled my hair, earning a squeak of surprise from me.

"Oh come on, cheer up! I know you'll do just fine, you _did_ manage to be in the top ten during midterms, remember?" I felt a warm feeling wash over me, the corners of my mouth twitching.

"That's right… Thanks, Hanamura" I muttered shyly as I gently removed myself from Hanamura's grasp.

* * *

 _After school..._

Once the bell for school to end rang, Hanamura and I quickly packed our bags and ran to the bus stop. According to Hanamura, we had to ride the bus in order to reach the testing area. It was a surprisingly large area, with little to no trees surrounding it. It looked almost like something you would see in the city like back home or in Okina City. Thanks to that, Hanamura- who turned out to be slightly nervous- and I were able to relax and pass the exams with flying colors. I couldn't believe that we passed it on our first try!

As Hanamura and I rode the bus back to the shopping district, Hanamura continued to gush over his license- as if it was a small animal that he was bringing home for the first time. Normally, the other passengers would have shushed him by now for being so noisy, but I guess that since he was so happy they were letting him off the hook. Or, you know, they just didn't care. His picture was rather cool- he looked as if he was trying to impersonate a movie star with a grin and a raised eyebrow, his eyelids halfway closed while his head was tilted back slightly. Mine on the other hand was just my blank face staring at the camera. I had never really considered myself to be so bored looking before, but staring at my picture… I can't help but wonder why I didn't smile.

* * *

Once we arrived at the shopping district, Hanamura and I hopped out of the bus. As the bus left, Hanamura looked at me and smiled.

"Hehe, we passed on the first try, just like we planned!" Hanamura laughed. I felt a warm feeling wash over me as my lips twitched slightly. Hanamura is really happy, I think it might be rubbing off on me. Seeing him smile like that certainly makes me feel happy.

"Actually, it was pretty easy," Hanamura continued. "I might've studied a bit too hard…" I nodded slightly, raising an eyebrow.

"You probably did," I remarked. Hanamura took no offence to my words as he laughed once again. Seeing as how the mood was right, I decided to offer Hanamura something to eat.

"You want get something at Souzai Daigaku? My treat" I offered. Hanamura gasped in surprise and cheered like a child.

"Awesome, let's have steak skewers and croquettes! Oh, and let's grab something sweet at the Shiroku store for dessert!" Hanamura cheered as he began to walk. I blinked in surprise at his list, finding it a bit much for me- and him for that matter- to endure.

"Don't you think that's a bit much?" I asked as I started walking beside him.

"Psh, we're both growing kids. We need our food, ya know?" Hanamura replied, shaking his right hand in front of his face. I blinked nervously at Hanamura's response. We're going to end up getting sick, I just know it…

As we started making our way down the road to Souzai Daigaku, we suddenly stopped when we spotted Dojima across the street by the gas station. Hanamura looked at each other for a moment before looking both way across the street and ran over to Dojima. Dojima, who didn't notice us earlier, looked a little surprise when he saw us running towards him. His expression quickly turned to one of anger and slight caution however when his eyes focused on mainly Hanamura.

"Er, hiya!" Hanamura began, sounding nervous. "Are you on duty?" Dojima said nothing at first as he just stared in a rather threatening manner.

"We just stopped by to get gas," Dojima replied, his eyes slowly glancing towards me. "And, well, to take care of some minor business." Dojima quickly returned his gaze to Hanamura and glared, raising an eyebrow.

"Where did you guys go? Together. With no supervision" Dojima asked in a rather threatening way. Hanamura froze under Dojima's glare, looking rather nervous as sweat dripped from his face. I took a step forward toward Dojima, catching his attention.

"Guess!" I replied, my voice sounding rather happy than usual. Dojima blinked in surprise and smiled, a chuckle escaping him.

"You're starting to sound like Nanako," Dojima began. "If you're trying to test my detective skills, then… Let's see, given that triumphant look in your eyes… I give up. Where?" I shook my head in disagreement, finding his lack of trying unsatisfying. Dojima chuckled once again, rubbing the back of his head.

"I can tell what a suspect's thinking when he's lying, but when it comes to where you might go…" Dojima explained. I puffed out my cheeks slightly in frustration before pulling out my new license and showing it to him.

"Narukami-chan and I got our motorcycle licenses! We went together and got 'em in on the first try!" Hanamura explained, taking the words out of my mouth. Dojima looked at Hanamura in surprise then looked at me. I nodded to Hanamura's statement, confirming the news by showing him my new license.

"Already!?" Dojima exclaimed, his eyes wide. "I know it's just a written test to get a scooter license, but still, I wasn't expecting you to pass so soon…" I scratched my right cheek shyly, feeling a bit happy for impressing Dojima for some reason.

"Oh well… Looks like I'd better think of a way to convince my sister…" Dojima sighed, before suddenly gasping. I flinched at the mention of my mother and looked down at the ground.

3rd POV

"I, um… That is..." Dojima stuttered. He sighed in slight frustration at himself for bringing up Hitomi's mother. How could he let such a sensitive topic slip out? And in front of someone who wasn't even involved. Yosuke, who had been somewhat ignored by Dojima stared at the uncle and niece in slight shock and curiosity. _Why did Hitomi act that way when Dojima mentioned his sister?_ , Yosuke thought to himself. It was then that Yosuke realized that he barely knew anything about Hitomi's family! All Yosuke knew was that Dojima was her uncle and guardian for the year- who hates and/or distrusts Yosuke after that whole misunderstanding with the swards.

After what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence, Dojima rubbed the back of his head and patted Hitomi's head, causing her to look up at him.

"Anyways, I can't say no now that you've gotten your license" Dojima pointed out, causing Hitomi and Yosuke to blink in confusion. Dojima was talking about his earlier discussion about motorcycles with Hitomi, about how he would debate on Hitomi _actually_ getting a scooter. Realizing what Dojima was talking about, Hitomi blushed in pleasant surprise a gasp escaping her.

"You're alright with this?" Hitomi asked, her voice higher than normal. Yosuke and Dojima smiled at the straight faced but clearly happy girl. Dojima chuckled and nodded, confirming Hitomi's question. Hitomi looked over to Yosuke with an usual sparkle in her eyes. Yosuke, still rather confused by the situation, stared at Hitomi for a moment- before gasping in realization. At the spur of the moment, Yosuke grabbed Hitomi's hands and shook them up in down, the biggest smile he could ever muster forming without effort. Dojima flinched at Yosuke's actions, his protective nature starting to build up.

"Alright! You got the okay!" Yosuke cheered, absolutely ecstatic that his friend could now get a scooter. "I need to head home and read through the catalogue—oh, do you still want to go to Souzai Daigaku?"

Hitomi, feeling a bit embarrassed for having her hands being held in Yosuke's, shook her head shyly.

"It's okay, you can go. Another time" Hitomi replied, her voice sounding normal. Yosuke smiled widely as he unconsciously let go of Hitomi's hands, unaware that he had even held them.

"Thanks, Narukami-chan! I'll see you tomorrow!" Yosuke cheered.

After a quick nervous goodbye to Dojima, Yosuke ran off, leaving Hitomi alone with her uncle. Dojima sighed silently as he watched the fawn haired boy run off. _Well, he doesn't seem like a bad kid_ Dojima thought. Hitomi placed a hand over her heart, confused as to why her heart is pounding.

Dojima turned around and placed a hand on his hip, catching Hitomi's attention.

"Mind if I borrow you for a sec before you head off?" Dojima asked. Hitomi blinked and nodded. Dojima smiled and turned his head towards the gas station.

"Hey, Adachi!" Dojima called out, causing Hitomi to look in the same direction.

"I just finished filling it up," Adachi answered back. Hitomi blinked in surprise when she saw Adachi bring over a white scooter to her and Dojima. Hitomi couldn't help but find the white scooter familiar until she realized it was the same white scooter she saw every day outside of the Dojima residence. Hitomi never once questioned it- she just acknowledged it was there.

"Sorry for dragging you into this," Dojima told Adachi before he turned his attention to Hitomi. "This is my scooter. I had it fixed at the shop. It may be old, but it runs pretty well. I came to put gas in it, but I wasn't expecting to hand it over today, too…" Hitomi's eyes widened as she gasped, surprised at the news.

"Are you sure? Th-This is your after all..." Hitomi asked as she glanced back and forth between the scooter and Dojima. Dojima nodded.

"I'm letting you have it" he replied with a caring tone.

Hitomi was shocked. This was the first time in a very long time that someone had given her a gift. She walked closer to the scooter and tentatively placed a hand between the handlebars. She was at a loss for words. Deep within Hitomi, she felt Izanagi push her back causing her mouth to open.

"T-Thank you" Hitomi squeaked. Dojima nodded, relieved that his old scooter was satisfactory for his niece. Adachi fought back a smile at the sight of the cute girl in front of him.

"You're always so strict at the station, but you're a cool dad inside, huh?" Adachi suddenly said with a straight face. Dojima blushed a little before glaring at Adachi.

"Shut up, Adachi!" Dojima scowled. Adachi flinched at Dojima's loud voice, cowering slightly.

"You always yell at _me_ …" Adachi whined with a frown. Realizing that Hitomi was staring at him, Adachi cleared his throat and straightened his sloppy jacket.

"Still, I wish we had a sleek means of transportation like that" Adachi began as he looked down at Dojima- or rather, Hitomi's- scooter. "Who knows when that suspicious guy will show up again? Hasn't he been using professional-quality cameras to take pictures of people's houses from the Amagi Inn to around here? Looks like he knows the back streets too, so a car won't be—"

"Will you stop blabbering like that!?" Dojima snapped, interrupting him. "Go back to the car!" Adachi winced at Dojima's voice and began to walk towards the gas station once again before suddenly stopping and turning to face Hitomi.

"Oh, thanks for packing me my food last night!" Adachi said with a smile before running off- just in time to avoid a growl from Dojima. Once Dojima had heard the familiar sound of a car door closing, he sighed and turned to Hitomi.

"Well, anyway…" Dojima began as he pulled out his packet of cigarettes. "I was around your age when I got my license too. I took the test behind my parents' back. When my dad caught me riding a scooter later on, he gave me a good thrashing… Hahaha… Don't tell Nanako about that, okay?" Dojima chuckled mischievously as he placed a cigarette in his mouth. Hitomi looked at Dojima for a moment, debating if she had enough of his trust to tell him not to smoke. She ended up just keeping silent about it.

"Anyway, since I've already given you the okay, I won't bug you about traffic laws. Just be safe when you're riding your scooter. You do that, and I'll look the other way if you decide to ride it out of town. Can you promise me?" Dojima asked. Hitomi blushed in excitement and nodded quickly.

"I promise" Hitomi replied.

"Good" Dojima said with a smiled. "I'll hold you to that. I'd suggest you ride around the neighborhood, try to get a feel of the road before you go anywhere on your own. If you get lost, call me, okay?"

"Yes sir" Hitomi replied. With that, Dojima said goodbye and headed to his car where Adachi patiently waited. Hitomi looked over to her new scooter, the corners of her lips twitching. With no helmet on, Hitomi nervously held onto the handles of the scooter, pushed up the standing bar, and pushed the scooter home where she planned to study the catalog like Yosuke had.

* * *

 _Sunday, June 12th_ | _Early Morning..._

Hitomi's POV

It was Sunday morning as I calmly combed my short hair that was fighting with me a bit. Yesterday after school, I had bought myself a full headed green and black helmet that covered my entire head and face. It's nice and sturdy, strong but comfortable enough to protect my face if I fall head first into the ground without getting too hurt. However because of that, my hair gets a little moist and give me helmet head. When I got home last night, it was considerably bad since I had gotten completely lost trying to ride to ride around the town. I was able to reach the station, but it had gotten rather late. On the plus side, I felt as if I was starting to get a feel for the place. Although, I still need to ride around a little more to get acquainted with the area.

Once my hair was all nice and combed, I decided to tie my hair into a small ponytail using one of Dojima's hair ties he had given me. I haven't been using any of it since he gave the pouch to me since I'm so used to having my hair down. But with the weather becoming hotter and hotter lately, it'll feel nice to feel a breeze tickle the back of my neck. Grabbing my green and white pouch, I opened it and shuffled through its contents. As I looked for an appropriate color hair tie to match my sleeveless green V styled vest, white summer dress, black stockings from the waist down to my knees, and my green flats that I plan to wear when I go outside; my iPhone suddenly began to rang. I blinked in surprise, wondering who could be calling me at the hour. Grabbing a green hair tie, I picked up my phone- seeing that it was Yukiko.

With a push of the talk button, I placed my iPhone to the desk- pushing the speaker button- and said, "Good morning, Yukiko-chan."

" _Oh, g-good morning. I'm sorry…I wake you up did I?_ " Yukiko asked. " _Do you want me to call you later?_ _"_

"No, it's fine- I've been up," I replied as I began to tie my hair. "What is it?"

" _I just wanted to know if you had time to come out today, " _Yukiko explained.

"Hm? Well, I suppose- I don't really have any official plans today. Where and when should I meet you?" I asked.

" _Oh, um! "_ Yukiko began, sounding excited. _" Meet me up at the Junes food court in an hour!"_ Yukiko suddenly hanged up, causing the dial numbers to disappear and reveal my main screen. Tying the rubber band around my hair for the final time, I stood up and headed downstairs to eat something really quick and head out.

* * *

Upon arriving at the Junes food court, Yukiko and I spotted each other rather quickly. Yukiko was wearing a black shirt with puffy sleeves, a short white skirt, and white sandals which complimented her perfectly. The two of us sat at our usual spot where the whole group would gather, finding it the most comfortable for us. We talked for a bit before Yukiko, mostly about my hair being tied. According to Yukiko, I looked a bit like a pretty boy. If it weren't for my chest, she said I might have been able to pull it off as a boy. I didn't really know how to feel about that, so I just let it slide. After a while of conversation, Yukiko pulled out a piece of paper.

"Ummm let's see…" Yukiko hummed, her expression serious. "Notebooks, three colors of pens, a loose-leaf folder, labels at the stationery department… Then the furniture department. I want to look at the desks. Those and the lamps…" I stared at Yukiko in slight confusion and awe. It sounded as if she was going to make an office space.

"Can you carry all that?" I asked without thinking. Yukiko smiled a little as she looked up from her list.

"I definitely can't carry a desk" Yukiko giggled, causing me to become embarrassed. She looked back down at her list and furrowed her brow.

"I wonder how long it would take to arrive if I have it delivered…" Yukiko hummed. After a moment of silence, a smile returned to Yukiko's lips as she glanced at me, possibly noticing that I was staring at her in confusion.

"I'm thinking of studying seriously for a job license" she explained bluntly. I blinked in surprise before nodding, now understanding the means for all the items.

"Which one?" I asked.

"I haven't decided on exactly which one I'll pursue," Yukiko replied. "But I was thinking of trying for all the ones I feel I can earn. I've started working at night, you see. Remember that job I told me about?"

I nodded, recalling the conversation we had after exiting the bookstore.

"The one with the envelopes, right?" I asked, needing to confirm it. Yukiko nodded in reply.

"Thanks to that, I have some extra money," she continued. "Which added up to the pay I receive whenever I help out at the inn and the money I got from the TV World…it's enough for me to buy the things I need, like a desk." I nodded slowly, taking in her words.

"Well, we'll get to that later. For now..." Yukiko began, eagerly pulling out a red container from her white purse and handed it to me. I stared at the boxed container in question, blinking in surprise at the actions.

"For me?" I asked.

"Yes, I made you a bento. Remember, you said you would taste my food?" Yukiko reminded. I nodded, recalling that day. "Well, it came out well so I packed it up. Try it out." I nodded in obedience and opened up the container. The food within the container looked normal which was a positive sign… but for some reason, an unusually pungent smell lingered in the air. I silently swallowed as Yukiko handed me a pair of wooden chopsticks. I nodded a thank you and snapped the chopsticks apart.

"Thank you for the food" I said as I gathered up some food.

"Go ahead!" Yukiko cheered. There was no turning back for me. Knowing that, I decided to start out with the omelette-looking… _thing_. Silently sighing, I brought the food up to my mouth and ate it. The first few bites seemed interesting. It was was actually rather sof— Suddenly, I stopped chewing. There was something too hard to bite in the inside of the egg… And it smelled burnt, yet raw… Closing my eyes, I forced myself to keep chewing on the food until I swallowed it.

"You're not about to tell me how delicious that was, are you?" Yukiko asked, causing me to turn my attention to her. I shook my head gently.

"It's not the best thing in the world, but there is always next time. What's nice about it is that it reminds me of when I first started cooking" I explained, looking down at the food. When I first started cooking, my food looked nice but did _not_ taste good. This certainly tastes nostalgic.

"I-I see… Then that can only mean that I'll get better from now on, right?" Yukiko asked with a relieved smile. I nodded in reply.

"Oh, Big Sis! What are you doing here?" a familiar voice asked. Yukiko and I turned to see Nanako rushing towards us with a big smile. I pushed out my chair a little and faced Nanako, who hugged me with her face between my chest. Patting her head, Nanako broke our embrace and looked at Yukiko.

"Ah, Nanako-chan…" Yukiko said with a smile. "Well, I was just having your Big Sis try my boxed lunch."

"Ooh, I want some!" Nanako beamed. Yukiko ceased smiling almost immediately, looking a bit nervous.

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't give you any. It's not good" Yukiko said sadly, sounding a bit hurt when she said "not good".

"Oh… If you make a good one, will you let me have some?" Nanako asked, looking curiously at Yukiko. Yukiko blinked in surprise.

"Huh…? S-Sure, if you want…" she replied shyly, a small smile returning to her face.

"Yay!" Nanako happily exclaimed. "I'm rooting for you!"

"Nanako-chan…" Yukiko muttered, sounding touched. "Thank you. I'll do my best, okay?" Nanako nodded in reply. I felt- proud, you can- at how good of a girl Nanako was. It makes me feel like an adoring mother. Nanako suddenly turned to me and smiled.

"I need to go now. I'm going to Mai-chan's house. Bye!" she explained before nodding to Yukiko.

"Stay safe, okay?" I told her.

"And be careful!" Yukiko added. Nanako nodded obediently before walking off. The two of us watched her leave until she was completely out of sight.

"Umm…" Yukiko began catching my attention. She was blushing in embarrassment. "I'm sorry to drag you around…" I blinked in surprise at her words before shaking my head.

"I'm having... fun" I assured, still a little awkward with the new word.

"R-Really?" Yukiko asked, looking relieved. "I'm glad to hear that…" I nodded in reply. It felt nice to be relied on like this… even if it meant having to eat bad cooking. Yukiko suddenly sighed and looked down at the table.

"Only about a year left, huh…?" she began. "I need to be able to do anything on my own by then…" I remained silent as I stared at Yukiko's complex expression. She looked as if she was holding something back within her...

"Good luck" I simply stated. It isn't the time yet.

"Thank you…" Yukiko replied with a smile. "You can give that back now." I looked down at Yukiko's bento and nodded before handing it back.

"Yukiko-chan, don't give up. Keep practicing and try to taste-test your own cooking as well" I suggested. Yukiko smiled and nodded in reply. Shortly after, the two of us stood up and I accompanied Yukiko as she did her shopping.

* * *

 _Monday, June 13th_ | _Late afternoon..._

I sighed in amazement as I stared out at the breathtaking view of Inaba. After school, I decided to ride my scooter again and found myself here. Thankfully, it wasn't too late out and there was plenty of sunlight. But the sun was setting and I found myself memorized and the golden hue of the sun over setting the town. I didn't even know that such an area like this existed… It's nice.

I turned away from the view and walked towards my scooter that held my school bag. Opening up my bag, I pulled out my cellphone. Entering my password, I quickly navigated to the contacts and pressed the "Call" button next to Dojima's name. I pressed my iPhone next to me ear and turned back to the view overlooking the town.

" _Dojima here_ " Dojima greeted after three rings.

"Hello Dojima, I'm sorry about this but… do you think you can pick me up?" I asked shyly.

" _Did you get lost? Well alright, where are you? "_ Dojima asked surprisingly sounding calm. I thought for sure that he'd be upset for calling him during work.

"Um… I appear to be at the hill overlooking town" I replied, looking around for a street name. For some reason, there wasn't one.

" _Okay, just stay put and I'll come for you "_ Dojima instructed. I nodded with a sigh of relief before ending the call. I returned my iPhone to my school bag and walked towards the gazebo near the edge of the sight. Taking a seat on one of the benches, I stared mesmerized at the golden town. I had plenty of time to ride back to the Dojima residence, but I didn't trust myself and I knew for a fact that by the time I planned to return, it would be well past the evening. After about roughly thirty minutes, Dojima picked me up. Thanks to the large family car, we simply had to stuff the spare tire in the trunk and place my scooter in its place.

"How the hell did you end up all the way there anyway?" Dojima asked on the ride back to his residence.

"I must have stayed off the road…" I replied, a bit confused myself. "I just wanted to ride around the neighborhood." Dojima sighed with a strained smile, looking rather amused.

"You're really something, you know that?" Dojima chuckled. I pressed my lips together, trying to understand if that is considered a good or bad thing.

* * *

When Dojima and I returned to the Dojima residence after putting my scooter in the garage, we were greeted by an extremely ecstatic Nanako. She was quite eager to work on the garden this evening since she saw the tomato seedlings, now a plant, starting to flower.

"C'mon!" Nanako urged as she tugged on my arm. "We gotta help the veggies grow!" I nodded in reply, feeling the corner of my lips twitch.

"Speaking of veggies…" Dojima began, catching our attention. "I actually got us a few more seedlings." I blinked in surprise at this information. So _that_ was what the white plastic bags were in the back next to the tire.

"R-Really?!" Nanako exclaimed in surprise, staring wide-eyed at Dojima.

"Yeah" Dojima replied with a smile and a nod.

"Yay!" Nanako exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Let's go plant them, Big Sis!" I nodded in reply and quickly gathered our planting materials.

"I'll help out today," Dojima remarked as I quickly returned with our materials. Nanako cheered happily at the fact that Dojima was helping out. Handing Nanako her pink elephant watering can, the three of us exited the house, grabbed the new seedlings, and headed towards the garden. Dojima and I planted the new seedlings, Nanako cheering us on. Almost immediately after we were finished, Nanako started watering the plants.

"Grow, veggies, grow!" Nanako urged as she watered them. Dojima chuckled as he finished planting one of the new seedlings, which he explained was a cabbage seedling. I was currently searching the flowering tomato plant for any pests. So far, there weren't any.

"Huh, they seem to be coming along," Dojima remarked as he approached me and the flowering tomato plant. "If all goes well, it could turn into a bumper crop." I nodded in agreement, dusting my skirt as I stood up.

"What's a bumper crop?" Nanako asked as she looked at us.

"It means there might be a lot of veggies to harvest," I replied.

"Really?!" Nanako exclaimed in surprised. "Yay! We're gonna have a lot of veggies~!" Dojima smiled at the cheerful girl as she continued watering. Once everything was finished, we washed up and I prepared dinner that consisted of potato salad and donburi. It was a lively dinner.

* * *

 _Tuesday, June 14th_ | _Morning..._

"School camp will be taking place this weekend," Morooka reminded the class. "Remember, this isn't like ordinary camping. It's going to be a place of education to wind up the lazy ass minds you get from screwing around all the time."

I watched my hands fold up a blank piece of paper into an origami crane- which would be my third- as I listened to Morooka. He was in the middle of a lecture without really saying anything too important for me to take notes on.

"I'll show you what morals are all about!" Morooka scowled. "And I'll send home anyone who brings down the morale! You remember that! What? You don't know the difference between 'morals' and 'morale?'" I looked up from my paper as my hands continued to fold, noticing Morooka's face slowly turn sour at the class's silence.

"Morals are about virtue!" Morooka explained. "Morale is…Tell me, Hanamura! You seem to be lacking in morals!"

"Dammit, King Moron!" I heard Hanamura whisper. "I thought I knew, but now I'm doubting myself! Sorry, Narukami-chan, tell me what morale is!"

Without glancing over, I whispered, "Cheerfulness in a group." Hanamura muttered a quick "thanks" before repeating the answer to Morooka.

"Hoh, that was unexpected…" Morooka huffed as I continued to fold my crane. "Did you tell him the answer, Narukami?" I shook my head in reply without looking up, knowing that if I did I would have said yes.

"Anyway, yes, morale refers to the enthusiasm of a group or an individual within a group," Morooka continued. "You remember when those women were killed? It's shit like that that brings down people's morale! And their morals! And maybe that'll all happen to you if you keep living lives of low morals and low morale!" My hands stopped folding the paper crane and froze. What a horrible thing to say…

"…What a low thing to say…" I heard Hanamura growl in a rather sad way. Finishing my crane, I quickly placed it on Hanamura's desk and one on Nise's desk before looking forward again as if nothing happened. The crane for Hanamura was to try and cheer him up while the crane for Nise was to keep him calm. These two aren't exactly the calmest people around.

* * *

 _Wednesday, June 15th_ | _After school..._

I stared at my surroundings in complete triumph. Using my scooter, I was able to drive all the way to Okina City with no trouble at all. Thanks to my iPhone's GPS system, I was able to ride all the way here! Maybe I should use my GPS more often when driving around Inaba. Turning off my scooter's engine, I pulled out it's stand and got off. People were looking at me for some reason, a majority male more than anything. Thinking that it probably had to do with my helmet, I quickly removed it and shook my head to air my hair. With a sigh, I placed my helmet down on the seat and began to shuffle through my bag to retrieve my wallet. Once I had my wallet, I began to walk around the station to see what was new. During my little tour, several boys tried to talk to me and ask for my number. But since I didn't really know any of them, I always turned them down.

As I walked towards Croco Fur, I noticed that there was a cafe next door, a rather tall, bald man wearing sunglasses standing outside of it's doors. Curious, I shyly approached the window and peeked inside. My eyes widened as I noticed a very familiar outline inside the cafe standing on what appeared to be a very short stage. It was covered with a white cloth, but I knew what it was. It's a piano…

"A customer or do you play?" a sudden gruff voiced asked. I nearly shrieked out in surprise as I turned my head to the left. The tall man in the sunglasses was looking at me with a lit cigarette in his mouth, his expression hard for me to read. I glanced inside the cafe and shrugged.

"I, um… I'm not anything today. Perhaps another time" I replied with a shaky voice. The man stared at me for a moment, causing me to stiffen up.

"You don't put much value in your own life do you?" The man suddenly asked, causing me to flinch. "I like the look in your eyes." The man took a deep breath from his cigarette and exhaled with his face turned away from me.

"When you take a sip of the coffee I make, your consciousness will be swallowed by the rapids. Will you discover something there…? Or will you simply rot away…?" the man began poetically. "Don't worry… You will not be denied the opportunity. But you must have resolve." The man took a shorter breath of his cigarette and exhaled before looking back at me.

"The piano… hasn't been played in years. It used to be the main attraction of this place" the man began, causing me to flinch. "You are always welcomed to work here part-time and play if you wish… I have a feeling that unless your finger are the one to return the piano to it's former glory, this cafe will surely crumble." Stunned by the man's words, I found myself frozen as the mysterious man walked into the cafe without looking back- as if he had began a journey of patience. Slowly, my legs began to move on their own and walk towards Croco Fur- my original location.

Upon entering the store, the bright pink walls nearly blinded me along with the cashier's bright smile.

"Hi! How may I help you today?" the woman asked. I felt myself blush as I looked down nervously, approaching her slowly.

"Um… I was wondering if you had… any swimsuits" I asked shyly. With the school camp out coming soon, I thought it would be a wise decision to buy one in case the group decided to go swimming. I liked swimming, but that was back when I had my mother's old swimsuit. Without it, I had to do possibly one of the most embarrassing things ever. _Buy_ one.

"Oh, I'm sorry hon'- they don't come in until tomorrow" the woman apologized, sounding genuinely apologetic despite her bright smile. I nodded thanks and made a mental note to myself to stop by if I wasn't busy before walking out. Making sure that my scooter was still safe, I walked over to the opposite end where a bookstore and craft shop was located. It's not everyday that I get to visit Okina City, so I might as well see if there's anything unique to buy here.

* * *

I was in the craft shop, examining the yarn aisle. The shop was a rather nice and cozy place, filled with wooden furniture like a lodge. Considering the fact that I was friends with Kanji, I thought I might buy him something. I'm here anyway, so I might as well buy him something. I only hoped that he wouldn't consider this rude since he was still a little sensitive about his feminine side. Like how Nise cries a lot.

As I examined the different colors of yarn, I heard the door to the shop open as well as a man muttering something. For some reason, the voice sounded very familiar.

"Uh… H-Hey" the voice began. "This 's gonna sound weird, but uh… C-Can I have your number?" I blinked in surprise when the voice finally clicked in my head. It was Kanji! Quickly walking towards the start of the aisle, I saw Kanji walking with the cashier with a rather flustered expression. I couldn't help but stare at Kanji in confusion and slight shock. The cashier… might be as old as his mother. And she's short with sagging skin. Why does Kanji want her number? The old woman merely laughed, sounding like a crackling fireplace.

"Why not dear… It certainly can't hurt" the old woman replied before she grabbed a pen and paper and began to slowly write down her numbers. Kanji let out a sigh of relief… or shame. Thinking now was a good opportunity, I walked towards Kanji and poked his arm. Kanji looked down at me and exclaimed in surprise, jerking back.

"S-Senpai! Wha-What are you doin' here?!" Kanji asked.

"I rode here on my scooter since everyone was busy. What are _you_ doing here?" I asked. Kanji relaxed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Erm, well… Nise-senpai, Yosuke-senpai and me all rode out here to pick up chicks. It didn't go so well at first, and now it's sorta like a battle for the most numbers. It was all Yosuke-senpai's idea" Kanji explained bluntly. I blinked rapidly in surprise by the news, glancing over to the elderly woman who was still writing down her number.

"...Are you having so much trouble that you resorted to asking elderly women?" I asked nervously as I glanced back at Kanji. He sighed in most definite shame, his head falling limp.

"...Yeah" Kanji muttered before looking at me straight in the eye with fierce eyes. "I gotta win this to prove that I'ma man! The other's still insistin' that I like dudes!" Kanji huffed in frustration as he looked at the elderly woman crossing his arms impatiently. Oh, so that's how it is… Staring at Kanji for a moment, I grabbed a piece of paper as well as a paper from the elderly woman's desk and handed the paper to Kanji, catching his attention.

"Let's trade numbers then" I suggested, causing Kanji to blush and blink in surprise.

"H-Huh? B-But then that'd mean..." Kanji began, but it seems as if he's to embarrassed to continue his sentence. I shook my head and handed the pencil to Kanji.

"Don't think of it as another number for the battle the three of you are having. If anything happens, I want you to be one of the first to know. It'll also be good for the investigations" I explained. Kanji stared at me for a moment before glancing away as his cheeks became rosy red. Kanji pulled out his iPhone, messed with it a little, and handed it to me- ready to insert my information. A warm feeling washed over me as I typed in my number and contact, exchanging Kanji's phone with the piece of paper he used to write on. Kanji looked down at his phone and smiled a bit, as if he looked happy.

"Here you are, young man" the elderly woman suddenly said, causing me to look over to her. It looks like she's done writing her number. I took the paper form her with a nod of thanks and looked at the numbers as a 'click' sound went off. I blinked in surprise at the number _and words_ written down on the piece of paper.

"...Kanji-kun?" I began, looking over to him. Kanji was still red in the face for some reason, blinking in surprise. I handed him the piece of paper in which he hesitantly accepted. Skimming through it, Kanji's red face turned pale before he slowly sank down to his knees in defeat. The elderly woman had given Kanji the _address_ of the shop that we were in. She must have not considered the fact of giving him her telephone number. With a sympathetic pat on the back, Kanji and I headed out of the store to meet up with the others.

* * *

3rd POV

Nise and Yosuke were sitting on their scooters in disappointment, anxiously waiting for Kanji to return. What was supposed to be a simple pickup plan turned into a fierce pickup contest. It was rather late now, the sun starting to set- turning the station into a lovely golden color.

"Hey guys, look who I bumped into" a voice called out to the sulking boys. Yosuke and Nise looked up, noticing Kanji as well as Hitomi approaching them. The duo shot up in surprise, startled to see Hitomi here of all place- especially with _Kanji_.

"Narukami-chan! What are you doing here?!" Yosuke and Nise asked at the same time.

"I rode out here on my scooter since everyone was busy. Kanji-kun told me why you guys are all here" Hitomi replied bluntly, causing the duo to blush in embarrassment. Yosuke looked at Kanji and gritted his teeth.

"What the hell man?! Why would you tell Narukami-chan of all people what we were doing?!" Yosuke shouted, taking a step towards Kanji. Kanji blushed and rubbed the back of his head, looking away.

"I-I couldn't help it! She asked and I ended up blurtin' it out" Kanji explained. For some reason, he felt as though he couldn't lie to his upperclassmen. Her silver eyes have become so entrancing to him that he ends up being honest to her without even trying. Kanji had meant to keep their plan here a secret, but he found himself explaining it halfway through. It was because of this that Kanji had ran off when they first talked about the plan since he knew he would have ended up spilling the beans…. as well as the fact that he had looked at Hitomi's chest, wondering how they would feel pressed up against his back.

"Erm… You rode here on your scooter, right? Where is it?" Nise asked as Yosuke and Kanji argued. Hitomi looked at Nise before pointing over to her white scooter not too far away from where they were standing.

"Oh, that one? Nice, it's cool looking" Nise complimented.

"Thank you, my uncle whom I'm staying with gave it to me" Hitomi explained, feeling a bit proud. Nise smiled at the way Hitomi sounded before looking down at his own scooter and patted the seat.

"This yellow one is only a rental," he began, "I passed my motorcycle easy not too long ago, but I couldn't afford one. Yosuke's is that orange one there that he bought today and that bike is Kanji's." Hitomi nodded as she looked at all of the transportation devices in order. They all looked nice in their own way.

Hitomi looked back at Nise and nodded, saying "Well, I wouldn't want to be in you guy's way, so I'll take my leave now." Nise nodded with a smile. He was actually rather glad that Hitomi was leaving. During the little pickup contest, Nise was able to successfully get some girl's numbers. But he didn't want Hitomi to think that he was some sort of playboy, so things are turning all right in the end. Hitomi nodded goodbye to Nise and walked towards her scooter, not planning to even attempt in saying goodbye to Yosuke and Kanji who were still arguing. Nise watched Hitomi walk to her scooter and put on her green helmet with a black eye shield. Nise couldn't help but deadpan at the sight of Hitomi. She looked like a car racer without her suit on.

 _Why does she need such a ridiculous helmet?_ Nise thought. It was then that Nise noticed Hitomi's awkward hand motions of petting her scooter handles before grabbing them appropriately. _Oh yeah… That's right, I nearly forgot. She told me that she was afraid of bike handles… I guess motorcycle/scooter handles fall into the same category_.

Once Hitomi was set, she inserted her key into the engine, listed up the stand, and carefully drove back to the way she had came- feeling confident enough to reach Inaba without the use of her GPS. Nise waved goodbye as he watched his classmate leave, Yosuke and Kanji finally noticing that Hitomi was gone and stopped arguing.

* * *

 _Thursday, June 16th_ | _After school..._

Hitomi's POV

I stood at a relatively far distance away from Nise and Yukiko, holding a basket filled with ingredients for tonight's dinner- curry. The four of us, Hanamura included, had all went to the Junes food department to go shopping for the school camping trip tomorrow. Everyone had agreed on curry since it was practically a camping necessity. Originally, I was supposed to be gathering ingredients with Yukiko since she wanted to see me cook in action and get tips, but I knew how Nise wanted to prove that he could cook and want to have responsibilities so I gave him my positioning. He was so happy, I hardly could have believed it. Before the duo started to go shopping, Hanamura suddenly left us saying he had to go do something really quick. With nothing really to do and having all of my ingredients picked out, I just watched Nise and Yukiko do their thing.

"What's up? Where did Nise and Yukiko go?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I looked over to my left then right, noticing Hanamura approaching me.  
"They're still shopping" I replied, pointing to where they were.

"Well, I'll bet we're in pretty good hands with Yukiko there. Working at the inn, she's used to taking care of travelers needs" Hanamura joked. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my jaw at Hanamura's words, silently swallowing. He doesn't know that Yukiko is actually a bad chef… Let's hope that Nise can choose the right ingredients for the curry and help Yukiko cook it during the campout… In the corner of my eye, I noticed that Hanamura was holding a blue Junes bag.

Blinking in curiosity, I asked "What's that, Hanamura?" He blinked twice as his face became red. Laughing nervously, Hanamura rubbed the back of his head with his spare hand.

"Never mind it, it's nothing!" he replied. I stared at Hanamura in slight suspicion before giving up on the subject. The two of us talked about many different topics until Nise and Yukiko had finished shopping. Since the two had shopped together, they split the price and paid together. I was in a different lane, my items quickly being scanned and bagged with Hanamura next to me- chatting away.

I could feel that familiar warm feeling flow within me as I listened to Hanamura. It made me feel… happy. To be by his side like this, listening to him go on and on about pointless things like a normal high school students, it felt nice. At times like this, I forget about my previous lonely life style… But it also makes me wonder how I would act if my first friend hadn't been Hanamura. If I had been friends with Nise or Yukiko first, what I would become? I can't really picture it. But with Hanamura… for some reason, I can picture a familiar face- my face, but with a different appearance- smiling. I wonder… Is it because Hanamura reminds me so much of him? I suppose no one can truly knows…

 **Only the fogs deepens…**

* * *

 _Evening..._

"I'm here" I called out as I opened the door to the Dojima residence. Placing my bags of groceries on the wooden platform above the cement and my school bag next to me, I began to slip off my shoes as the sound of running feet approached me. I looked up and saw Nanako running- well, more like jogging- towards me with a different outfit on. Nanako's usual white turtleneck underneath a dress of three different shades of pink was now replaced with a white and pink strapless dress that looked very cute on her. Nanako's twin pigtails bounced as she stopped in front of me, smiling.

"Hey, welcome home Big Sis!" Nanako greeted. I nodded as I finally got both my shoes off, sliding them towards the wall on my left.

"You look really cute in that dress, Nanako" I complimented. Nanako blushed in embarrassment, her small smile now turning bigger.

"Thank you!" she giggled. I felt the corners of my lips twitch as I grabbed the Junes bags and walked towards the kitchen.

"Oh! It's from Junes!" Nanako exclaimed. I placed the bags down on the dinner table, revealing its many ingredients to her.

"I went there with my friends today. We had a bit of shopping to do and so I bought some ingredients for dinner tonight. I hope you like curry" I explained before walking towards the stairs.

"Curry?! Yum, I love curry- it's my favorite!" Nanako cheered. As I quickly walked up the stairs, I heard Nanko start singing the Junes jingle from the commercials. She must be looking forward to dinner. Grabbing a random hair tie from my green and white pouch, I quickly tied my hair into a ponytail and returned to the kitchen where I began to cook.

Once dinner was ready, Nanako quickly made us some tea and served it at the same time I did with the curry. The curry that I had made was chicken curry- something heart with lots of flavor but very mild.

"Hey, Big Sis… Why did you go shopping?" Nanako asked as I handed her a spoon. I blinked in surprise at her question, slowly sitting down at my usual seat across from her.

"My school is having a camping trip..." I began. Nanako's face light up, looking just about ready to say 'I hope you have fun!' But before she could utter those words, I slowly added "...I'll be gone all day tomorrow because of it." Nanako's face froze for a moment as she blinked in surprise. There was a short pause before Nanako started scooping up her food, an understanding look on her face.

"That's okay. I'll be fine by myself, I'll watch over the house while you're gone" Nanako replied before taking a bite of her curry and turning on the television to a magic show. I stared at Nanako as she ate while watching the television. She looked happy to have curry for dinner, but also seemed rather disappointed at the fact that I'll be gone. I didn't want to see her like this so I glanced around the room for something to do to cheer her up. When my eyes reached the television, that's when I suddenly got an idea. Reaching for the back of my neck, I pulled out my hair tie and placed it on my index and middle finger. I could feel Nanako watching curiously, but not intently. I made sure to also hook the hair tie to my ring finger and pinky out of her field of vision.

"What're you doing?" Nanako finally asked. I said nothing as I held out my right hand, closing it lightly. Nanako stared questioningly at my closed hand, tension somehow rising in the air. Finally, I opened up my hand, causing the hair tie to sprung off my index and middle finger, instantly moving over to the ring finger and pinky. [A/N: Has anyone actually done this before? When I was writing this, I actually decided to do it and it works! For the first time in a _really_ long time, I couldn't stop giggling like a little girl! v] Nanako exclaimed in awe, placing her spoon down as she leaned towards me in excitement.

"I saw it!" Nanako exclaimed, sounding delighted. "It went like, zoom! Do it again! One more time!"

"Alright, alright" I replied, glad that I had cheered the girl up. Everyone looks much better with a smile.

* * *

 _Friday, June 16th_

Today was the first day of the school camping trip. The ride over to the campsite wasn't all that thrilling for a lot of people, complaining about how they could have just walked. Everyone was wearing their school jerseys, differentiated amongst others. Hanamura, who would usually have his favorite headphone wrapped around his neck had to be left behind while Nise had to leave his green jacket, making them look just as plain as the other students. I decided to wear my hair into a ponytail, since I was going to be working a lot. Hanamura and Nise kept on teasing me about it, saying it would look nicer with longer hair or even braided. Of course I didn't take any offence to their jokes since that was all they were, and I even made jokes as well. Despite the constant complaining from everyone- including Nise and Yukiko- the four of us had fun.

For Hanamura and I, we were nervous. We had never experienced this camp out before and had no idea where it was located. All of the complaints we've been hearing have been making us more and more nervous rather than excited. And when we reached the location, Hanamura nearly fainted at the pure thought of the exhausting day we had ahead of us. It was a tall mountain not to far from the school. At the base of it, it looked spectacular with it's fresh greenery of grass, trees and bushes. But as we started to climb up it, I too started to become dizzy at the amount of work we had to do. Garbage was everywhere the moment we reached the campsite, nearly covering the area with multiple colors of blue and red wrappers of candy and soda cans. At first, it was the four of us working together. The sometime later, the girls of each camp- or whoever had assigned themselves to be cooking- had to leave and start preparing the meal. Just as Yukiko and I was about to leave, Nise stopped us and said to go in my place- to show Hanamura just how good of a chef he is. I didn't mind and continued to clean up with Hanamura. We tried to make it as fun as possible to ease our disappointment and sorrow, but we had trouble doing even _that_ when we found outrages items such as refrigerators and heavy old fashioned televisions lying about.

Finally, lunch break came. Hanamura and I were sitting at one of the many picnic tables under the picnic shelter, groaning in pure agony. Since I was on break, I decided to let my hair breath, making sure it parted behind my neck instead of covering it to get some air.

"Ugh, picking up all that trash was murder on my back…" Hanamura groused as he rubbed his back. "I can't believe someone threw away an _entire bike_. Dammit, litterers should have to deal with their own garbage…" I simply groaned in reply, agreeing with him.

"Man, I'm gonna head in face first into the food" Hanamura sighed as we both sat up straight. "After all that hard work we did, we deserve to get a big serving. I swear, if Nise ends up serving me shit on a plate, I'm gonna kill him…!" Hanamura wasn't this upset when we first started cleaning up the mountain. He's only like this because the two of us did a majority of the work. There was a surprisingly large amount of bugs hiding in the grass, causing Nise to often panic when one would land on him or crawl into his clothes and run about crying- causing Yukiko to chase after him and calm him down. That was why I easily let him do the cooking for me, thinking it as a way of him actually doing work. I grimaced as I recalled Yukiko's bento she had made for me not too long ago. Nise says to have never cooked before, but I believe in him to follow the instructions on a cookbook and have the proper ingredients at their disposal.

"Dinner is serve..." I heard Nise weakly call out, causing Hanamura and I to look over at their cooking station and watch them approach us with trays that consisted of two glasses of water and two plates of the curry and rice. Nise gave me a plate with a nervous smile while Yukiko gave Hanamura one and set the remaining plates next to us. Placing the cups down, Hanamura eagerly grabbed a spoon and scooped up a hearty filling of the… substance. Hanamura was either color blind or simply to exhausted to notice the strange purple gas fuming off of the curry. Hanamura thanked Nise and Yukiko for the food before putting the spoon into his mouth. Then suddenly, without any warning, Hanamura suddenly spat out whatever it was in his mouth and fell to the side of the bench- causing Yukiko to scream as if she had discovered a corpse.

"Yosuke?!" Nise exclaimed in surprise as he took a step back.

"Hanamura!" I gasped, quickly jumping out of my seat and sitting next to Hanamura's lying body. He was very much conscious, but the color of his face was an unexplainable purple- like the gas coming from the curry. I grabbed Hanamura's arm and wrapped it around my shoulder, pulling him up. His head was limp, circling and hanging like a rag doll.

"What happened?" I asked, shaking Hanamura a little. He tried to reply, but spoke in a strange gurgling noise.

"H-Huh…? Mosquitoes?" I repeated, trying to put together what Hanamura was trying to say. Hanamura made some more gurgling noises, causing me to blink in confusion.

"What? W-Worms?" I repeated, confused and... slightly afraid. I looked over to Yukiko and Nise to see how they reacted to Hanamura's gurgling.

"What? Mosquitoes and worms?" Yukiko repeated, just as confused as I was. Nise blushed a little as he crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I didn't put any of that in the curry" he quickly denied, causing Yukiko to suppress her laughter.

"Thank goodness, I was just afraid that something might have fell in" Yukiko giggled. Nise began to lecture Yukiko about not laughing, causing me to sigh. I felt sweat roll down my jaw as I returned my attention back to Hanamura, grabbing his cup of water.

"Here, please drink this Hanamura" I pleaded, worried for his wellbeing. Hanamura closed his eyes as he took several gulps of the water, only to open his eyes and nearly gurgle the water out. I grabbed a napkin nearby and began to wipe Hanamura's mouth and jaw where the water had drooled. I looked at the plates of curry in front of me, blinking in confusion.

"Perhaps… the curry was too spicy?" I thought out loud. I looked over to Nise and Yukiko, in which Yukiko nervously looked at Nise.

"You _were_ going to make it mild, right Nise?" Yukiko asked. Nise flinched at the sudden question, a drop of sweat falling off his jaw.

"Um, yeah..." Nise replied, sounding uncertain. "But if you don't trust me, you can try it yourself!" Nise laughed nervously at his words, placing his hands to his hips.

"Good idea! Why don't you try it, Hitomi-chan?" Yukiko suggested, turning her attention to me. I stared at Yukiko for a moment, before realizing that she was practically _demanding_ me to try it, her eyes looking fierce. Nervously, I placed Hanamura down against the table so at least he was sitting and walked over to my seat, sitting in front of my purple and white plate. There was no smell, so I couldn't tell what I was about to experience. The only thing I was sure of was that I might die if I eat this… anything that fumes a purple gas is guaranteed to kill someone. But there's no way I can back down with Nise and Yukiko looking at me so expectantly. With an audible gulp, I scooped up an evenly portion of rice and curry with shaking hands. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and took a bite. Seconds later, the taste of multiple things flooded into my mouth, causing my eyes to water. Biting onto the spoon for dear life, I began to chew the inedible substance hoping to swallow it. However, when I chew for the third time, something soft exploded in my mouth- its juices hitting the inner walls of my cheeks. At that moment, I couldn't hold it in and just like Hanamura, I spat out the food in my mouth and fell to the side of my bench- Yukiko's scream being the only thing to remind me that I was conscious and alive.

"No, Narukami! Don't die on me yet, partner!" I heard Hanamura call out. For some reason, I felt my heart skip a beat when I heard Hanamura call out my name without any honorifics. It felt nice. My body was carefully pulled upward by Hanamura, who had a rather concerned expression on his face. Doing what I had done to him earlier, he gave me a cup of water and forced me to drink it. It was horrible, but I managed to drink the entire glass of water.

Once I was alright, Hanamura and I stood up and faced Nise and Yukiko.

"Show us the curry pot" Hanamura scowled. Obediently, Nise and Yukiko began to walk towards their cooking station, Hanamura closely behind them with an aura of rage surrounding him. Before I followed them, I grabbed two more glasses of water and a napkin. I wasn't feeling well and I know for a fact that Hanamura wasn't either. Walking towards the cooking station Nise, Hanamura and Yukiko were all standing next to- Hanamura began to shout.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Hanamura shouted as he stomped his left foot to the ground. "What were you thinking putting that on a plate and calling it-" Hanamura suddenly stopped as he placed a hand over his mouth, keeping himself from vomiting. I handed Hanamura a glass of water and a napkin, which he gladly accepted. Yukiko and Nise looked at each other with grim smiles.

"I… I guess we should have taste-tested it…?" Yukiko thought out loud, causing me to flinch. Of course she didn't taste-test it. She was only told to do so recently, so of course she didn't do it… and also because she didn't want to die from trying out a poisonous substance. Nise laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, sweat rolling down his face.

"I, uh, I was too afraid to do it myself..." Nise admitted, causing sweat of my own to fall. After taking a quick drink, Hanamura grabbed Nise by the collar and shook him.

"Curry's supposed to smell 'really spicy' or 'kinda mild'…!" Hanamura explained angrily before pointing at the boiling pot that was still filled with the curry. "But this just stinks!" I took a glass of water at the sight of it, wiping off sweat that didn't fall from the end of my chin.

"It's a whole new creation..." I muttered with a shaky breath.

"It's gritty and slimy and mushy all at the same time…" Hanamura began as tears began to seep from his eyes. "No matter what you do to it, it'll still be totally gross!" Feeling my stomach churn at the sight of the boiling mixture, I looked over to Nise and Yukiko- just in time to see Nise push Hanamura off and place his hands on his hips with a nervous look, Yukiko looking equally nervous.

"We, well, we had some trouble trying to mix it together…" Yukiko began slowly. "So we stirred in a little love to help out! It offers a wide variety of textures, huh? Haha…ha..." Nise finished nervously.

"What the heck is the name of this 'love' you put into it?!" Hanamura snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. Nise looked up and hummed in thought.

"Uh, l-let's see..." Nise began. "Cornstarch, heavy flour, chili peppers, kimchi, black ground peppers, coffee flavored milk, a variety of seafood… and well, anythin' that sounded tasty." I stared wide eyed and open mouthed at the duo standing in front of me, feeling as if I was going to faint. They literally might have put everything into this pot… That would explain why they had about four bags each yesterday. I thought it was just two different recipes- one spicy and one mild- in case one of us wouldn't like one of the flavors. But no… that wasn't it. They had ingredients like coffee flavored _milk_ inside of them…

"I thought it was the best move at the time… I'm so sorry guys" Nise apologized bowing.

"Please forgive us" Yukiko added as she also bowed in apology. Hanamura groaned as he turned around and smacked his face with his hand.

"Aw man, now what?! Our team isn't going to have anything to eat for the whole campin' trip!" Hanamura whined. I sighed softly in defeat as Hanamura and I looked back at the pot of boiling curry.

"If only it was slightly edible..." I began. "But Mysterious Food X over there is totally off the menu..." Hanamura whimpered. Suddenly, Hanamura groaned as we clutched our stomach's in pain. My stomach felt like it was doing all sorts of tricks. Noticing Hanamura's pained position, I rubbed his back gently in comfort. I looked over to Nise and Yukiko with a sigh.

"Well, Hanamura and myself are going to head off to the first-aid tent to get some antacid…We aren't feeling too well" I explained. The two flinched at my words and looked down, taking a few steps back, uttering an apology. Wrapping Hanamura's arm around my neck to help support him, the two of us stumbled towards the first-aid tent.

* * *

"Damnit Nise… I'm gonna kill him..." Hanamura grumbled as we stumbled into the first-aid section. Ahead of us was a fairly long tent with the left side having no back curtain and the right side does. I noticed that as we inched closer and closer there was only one person there- a boy with wavy, slicked-back light brown hair. He seemed rather lonely… When we finally reached the first-aid tent, Hanamura groaned in pain as he leaned more on me. I struggled to continue walking under the weight, but I somehow managed. The boy looked up at Hanamura's groaned.

"Do you have anything for him? He ate something bad" I explained with a soft pant, readjusting Hanamura's arm.

"My stomach is in major revolt… you gotta help me out dude…!" Hanamura groaned as he looked up at the boy. Hanamura suddenly gasped in surprise as the boy glared at him with piercing brown eyes, his sharp nose acting almost as a spear to keep us distanced. Hanamura shifted off my body and stared where he was as the boy huffed and grabbed a brown bottle out of a blue bucket. I approached the table as the boy stretched it out towards me.

"Here" the boy muttered. I nodded a thank you as I reached out to take it… but for some reason, the boy refused to release his hold on the bottle. I blinked in surprise at this action, simply holding the bottle.

"Hold on" the boy began, catching my attention. "I'm Naoki Konishi." I gasped softly in surprise, a small alarm ringing in my mind. Is this… Saki Konishi's brother…?

"And just so you know… I hate you. _And_ Yosuke" Naoki snarled before releasing the bottle. I couldn't help but stare in shock at the boy who looked away from me. While still staring at Naoki, my hands continued to move- twisting the cap and pulling out two pills of the antacid, twisting the cap back on the bottle. I placed the bottle down on the table, muttering a small thank you before turning around to Hanamura. Hanamura was looking away, as if the boy in front of him was too painful to look at. Hanamura walked over to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me away and towards a nearby path.

Hanamura and I soon found ourselves in a mountain path filled with hydrangea bushes and a fence protecting us from the slow moving stream nearby us. With a sigh, Hanamura sat down on the fence just before the trail went downhill and outstretched his hand. I placed a pill to his hand, popping the other one into my mouth. Hanamura did the same and let out a sigh after he swallowed it.

"That kid..." Hanamura began. "Well, you see, he's Saki-senpai's little brother." I blinked in surprise at the news before slowly nodding.

"Oh… I get it now" I muttered. Hanamura nodded before looking down at his feet.

"Yeah... He and I talked a of couple times when I was hanging out with Saki-senpai" Hanamura continued. I noticed that his hands had tightened up slightly at the mention of Saki's name. "He's not doing too good… I heard that since the murder, he's basically withdrawn." I nodded in understanding as I held onto my right arm with left. I can relate…

"Hey guys?" I heard a familiar voice called out. Hanamura and i looked at each other in surprise. "Hey guys!" I looked over to the downsloping hill and saw Kanji, his school jersey hanging on his shoulders, as he waved from behind a tall hydrangea bush.

"Yo! Overhere!" Kanji ushered, motioning us to approach him. Hanamura and I looked at each other before walking towards him.

"What's up Kanji? Why are you behind the bushes?" Hanamura asked as we approached him.

"Never mind that, just come with me" Kanji replied bluntly. I blinked in surprise by the vague answer he had given but nodded in obedience. Hanamura groaned in uncertainty but climbed up the small grass platform that separated itself from the trail. Once he was up, I tried to climb up as well. However, being the considerably short person that I was, I nearly fell backwards. Thankfully, Kanji grabbed my hand and helped me up the hill.

"Careful Senpai. It's a little tricky 'round here" Kanji warned with a serious look on his face.

"Thank you, Kanji-kun" I thanked with a nod. Kanji grin as a small pink of pink covered his cheeks.

"Hey, how long are you gonna hold her hand like that Kanji?" Hanamura suddenly asked, catching our attention. Hanamura looked rather angry and a little bit upset as he let out a short huff. Blinking in confusion, I looked down at my hand and noticed that Kanji was still holding it. Realizing this, Kanji suddenly let go of my hand, causing me to look up at him. His face was a bit redder than before and a drop of sweat was rolling down his jaw. Kanji looked away and started walking towards the woods.

"A-Any way, let's go" Kanji stuttered, his movement a little awkward. With a huff, Hanamura began to follow him. I looked down at my hand that Kanji was holding before finally walking myself to catch up.

* * *

When Kanji, Hanamura and I reached a nice secret little location, I noticed a familiar head of blue, black, and brown hair. Yukiko and Nise were sitting on some logs while Aika was holding a tall silver box meant for delivery.

"Whoa! Look at that, you ordered some delivery for us! Now you're talkin'~!" Hanamura cheered, practically jogging towards Nise and Yukiko.

"Here, have a seat and start digging in!" Yukiko encouraged as she smiled at me. I blinked and nodded in reply, sitting next to her on the log. It was then I noticed three bowls of food waiting for us on the ground. I picked up the bowl in front of me as well as the pair of wooden chopsticks, wrapped in paper.

"We better eat up before King Moron finds us, okay?" Nise suggested as he snapped open his pair of wooden chopsticks. Hanamura cheered as he eagerly grabbed a bowl, sitting down next to Nise.

"Hey- not to be rude, but why are you here?" Hanamura asked as Kanji sat down besides me, his wooden chopsticks in his mouth- about to snap them apart.

"Well, my teacher said that if I don't show up at the campin' trip, they'll hold me back a year" Kanji explained before snapping his chopsticks apart with a grunt. I blinked in surprise at this information and looked at Kanji.

"Then... why aren't you with the other first years? Are they being mean to you?" I asked. Kanji huffed as a soft pink tinged his cheeks, taking out the chopsticks in his mouth.

"It's not that they're bein' mean… It's just so damn quiet over there, it's like somebody died" Kanji explained before taking a bite of his meat and rice bowl.

"I bet it's only like that when you're around, haha..." Hanamura and Nise laughed nervously at the same time, beads of sweat rolling down their jaws. Kanji chewed and quickly swallowed his food, looking at me.

"Plus, you guys are _way_ more fun" Kanji said with a smile. I stared at Kanji for a moment before a sudden question popped into my mind.

"Hey Kanji-kun," I began, just in time to stop him from eating another bite of rice "Do you know Naoki Konishi?"

"Naoki the freshman? Sure I know him. We go _way_ back" Kanji replied before taking a bite of his food.

"Wha- seriously?!" Hanamura exclaimed, surprised.

"Hey, wasn't his big sister…?" Nise began, trying to put two and two together.

"Naoki is Saki-senpai's little brother, isn't he?" Yukiko asked. I nodded in reply since Hanamura had told me earlier.

"Yeah. Fa two of ush han'ed ougt a rot back 'n erementary schoor" Kanji explained with his mouth full. Kanji swallowed the food and placed his bowl down, looking up at the trees. "It seems like lately… we kinda drifted apart."

"You two still have classes together don't you?" Hanamura suddenly asked, catching our attention. "Is it true that his classmates are ignoring him?" I flinched at the question before looking down at my bowl. Ignoring him… It's most likely true. People don't know how to hang around with people who have been in a recent family accident. They think that it's best to stay away to avoid being mixed in with the family. But really… that just makes the victim- or in this case, Naoki- to suffer more.

"Ugh, you're killing me!" Hanamura suddenly groaned, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw Hanamura pointing his chopsticks at Kanji with a serious look on his face. "How could you not know, it's important?!" I looked over to Kanji, just in time to see him look away with a huff as if annoyed.

"I _don't know_ because we don't have any classes together" Kanji explained.

"Aw man," Hanamura sighed as he rubbed the back of his head in defeat. "You're totally no help at all."

"What?" Kanji huffed, looking offended. He suddenly stood up, covering his food with the top bow and began to walk off. "I don't have to take this crap from you guys."

"Ah, hey wait! He was just jokin', ya know!" Nise called out.

"There's still plenty of food here" Yukiko added. But Kanji still continued to walk, his head held high. I looked over to Hanamura who looked just as confused as everyone else. He must have accidentally activated Kanji's angry motivation. After a moment, the three of them began to eat, throwing out theories as to where Kanji had went. I on the other hand didn't touch my food as I waited for him to return.

Sometime later, approximately ten minutes, I could hear the sound of a boy grunting and asking to be put down. The other stopped talking and looked over to the direction where Kanji had walked off, only to see Kanji walking towards us while carrying Naoki Konishi by the back of his jersey. I blinked in surprise by his sudden appearance. Kanji went to go and get him?

"What's the big deal?!" Naoki exclaimed as he flailed. "Put me down, Kanji!" Kanji did exactly that and lowered Naoki to the ground, pushing him forward towards us- earning an exclaim.

"Here, I found the dude for ya" Kanji began before placing his hands onto his hips. "If you want to learn more about 'im, then ask him those questions yourself okay?"

"Um… that wasn't exactly the point..." Hanamura replied nervously, his voice cracking.

"So, just… what do you guys want with me?!" Naoki growled, glaring at Hanamura. I could feel my heart sink at that, a pinch of pain stabbing my heart. The defensive glare...

"U-Uh, well-" Hanamura began, before I interrupted him saying, "Are people ignoring you in class?" Naoki flinched at my bluntness, sweat starting to roll down his cheek.

"Whoa, Narukami-chan-" Hanamura began, "A little subtlety, okay?!" Nise finished. But I ignored them as I stared at Naoki, waiting for an answer.

"That's the first time anyone's had the nerve to ask me that straight to my face..." Naoki admitted, sounding a bit shocked. A small smile formed on his face, one that spelled refresh. "It's actually kind of a nice change…!" My heart throbbed as Naoki looked down at his feet, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"It's true..." he began. "It does feel like I'm being left out. It's like… nobody knows what to say, so they stare at me from a distance. I'm tired of being coddled..." I nodded slowly, understanding the feeling.

"You've been skipping school because of this, haven't you" I pointed out, causing Naoki to look up at me in surprise.

"Y-Yeah I have..." he admitted, sounding shocked once again. Naoki looked down at me in the eye and continued, "And not just because of that, I'm helping my family fend off the press all the time."

"I can understand that," Yukiko began, catching our attention. "I had to do the same thing at our inn."

"Lately," Naoki continued, looking down at the ground. "Our neighbors have been taking shifts coming together to help out with the press. See, they tell me to live my life 'cause that's what my sister would have want..."

"And then they start crying, making it pretty depressing right?" I finished. Naoki look up in surprise, blinking a few times. He must have been at a lost for words because all he did was nod in reply. I closed my eyes and stood up, carrying my bowl and chopsticks as I approached him.

"Here, it's all yours if you want it" I said as I reached the bow and chopsticks out to him. I could hear the others shift in surprise, some muttering 'but that's...' I ignored them as Naoki took the bowl from my hands. He was slightly taller than me, but not so much so that I had to look up to lock eyes with him.

"Hey, this is… Nikudon from Aiya's..." Naoki muttered. He suddenly smiled brightly in delight, exclaiming. "Awesome! That's like my total _total_ favorite!" I felt my heart start to feel less heavy upon seeing the boy's smile and lowered my head.

"Things will get better soon, you'll see… I've been through the similar situation as you, so come talk to me if you ever need it" I whispered, so only he could hear it. I turned around and let Naoki sit down where I use to sit. Hesitantly, he did so as well as Kanji, and everyone began to eat. I made sure to keep the conversation stream going, bringing up trivial topics and bad jokes that made everyone laugh.

* * *

An hour later, once everyone had finished their food, we left the bowls there like Aika had told Yukiko and Nise and walked Naoki back to the first years tents. It was surprisingly active, divided in half with green and blue tents- blue being the tents the girls slept in and green being the ones the boys slept in. The walk here was rather quiet, when Naoki suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Hey guys," Naoki began, sounding a bit guilty "I know I said I hate you when I don't even know you." Naoki suddenly bowed while saying sorry and stood back up with a small smile on his face.

"I think that I actually had fun today...! Maybe we can all hang out again sometime?" Naoki asked.

"Sounds great" I replied with a nod.

"Just say the word!" Hanamura added, giving a thumbs up and a wink.

"Cool, thanks!" Naoki chuckled, sounding happy. With that he waved bye and dashed off to a green tent. There was a moment of silence between all of us as we watched Naoki.

"Okay, dude..." Hanamura began. I nodded in reply, knowing what he was going to say.

"We need to find who's behind these murders, and soon" Hanamura continued. I turned around to face everyone, just in time to see the others nod in agreement.

With that, the five of us all walked back to the woods to continue cleaning, grabbing large white bags to stuff the garbage. Before I started cleaning though, I made sure to tie my hair again. Just like the others, Kanji commented on how I looked, saying that I could pull off looking like some sort of "pretty boy boncho" look if I tried (involving hiding my chest and wearing taller shoes as well as shoulder paddings to make me look strong). Again, I'm not too sure how to feel about it.

"So, has anyone noticed anything new since we last talked about the murders?" Hanamura asked as we started cleaning. "Anything suspicious or some new gossip?"

"More importantly, does anyone have any ideas on who the killer could be" Nise added as he dumped five cans of soda into his bag.

"Wait… I just remembered somethin'!" Kanji began. "My mom said when Consiler Namatame was fired, he came _back_ to run his family's shop." I blinked in surprise as I stuffed eight toilet rolls into my bag.

"I heard the same thing. Isn't he a delivery man now?" Yukiko asked.

"He was havin' a fling with Miss Yamano, right?" Nise asked. "Tch, no wonder Mr. Handsy got kicked off the council."

"But I heard… that he had a tight alibi" Hanamura pointed out. I nodded in agreement as I stuffed ten cans of soup into my bag.

"And I don't think this guy is the murdering type" I pointed out. Hanamura groaned, catching my attention to see just in time him stand up with his hands on his lower back.

"Man, so basically we've got nothin'... With no main guy, we just have to play along by keeping an eye on the news for their new victim" Hanamura sighed in defeat. I walked over to Hanamura and cupped my chin with my thumb and pointer finger.

"We still have no idea why the killer is kidnapping and killing people simply because they appear on T.V..." I began.

"Yeah. All we know right now is that it's the killer's M.O" Hanamura agreed. The others gathered around so that we formed a little circle.

"Do you think the guy used to be a big star or something and is havin' his revenge on people who are being shown on T.V?" Nise asked, half heartedly. Hanamura punched his head with an angry hum, earning a yelp from Nise.

"Is there any way to learn about people getting interviewed before they're actually shown on T.V?" Yukiko asked.

"There's always those news articles online" Kanji suggested. I grimaced as I scratched my right cheek.

"But a majority of those end up being posted on the same day the person ends up getting interviewed on T.V or is several days later the T.V interview" I pointed out. Kanji blinked in realization at my words, scratching the back of his neck.

"So basically, we can't do anything?" Nise asked, rubbing the top of his head. All of us sighed in disappointment and defeat, knowing that the only thing we can do is wait. Sometimes waiting is the most painful experience of all…

"Hey you little punks!" a voice barked, causing the five of us to flinch. "Quit your jibber-jabber and start picking up trash!" Immediately, we all stood up and started to work again. Morooka, who ended up being the one barking at us, certainly had a lot of power over us.

* * *

 _Evening…_

Yukiko and I were laying in our tents, listening to the wondrous sounds of wildlife roaming about. That is… we _could_ if it weren't for a third member in the tent snoring like a shadow. Hanako Ohtani, a girl from another class in our grade, was sharing our tent as well. She is a rather big girl with short, brown hair clipped by red ribbons, dark eyes, freckles, and big fat lips. I didn't find her to be all that bad when the three of us entered the tent, but she turned my opinion of her so fast I nearly fell in shock. She's a lot more arrogant than I would have found her to be, saying that she couldn't hang out with "tiwgs" like Yukiko and myself, adding that women like her needed their beauty rest when I offered the three of us to chat a bit before heading to bed. And now, I laid on my side with my free hair tickling my cheek, having very little room on my side of Ohtani- trying to sleep.

"Hitomi-chan? Are you awake...?" I heard Yukiko whisper through Ohtani's snoring. I groaned softly in reply.

"I'm wide awake..." I whimpered.

"Hitomi-chan, what's wrong?" I heard Yukiko ask. I sighed and sat up, Yukiko doing the same, and rubbed the back of my neck.

"I'm starting to regret giving my food to Naoki-kun… and well, I didn't get any dinner..." I admitted, causing Yukiko to flinch. When dinner time had came around, it turned out that Yukiko and Nise had both eaten my share since I was still cleaning. I ended up thinking of ways to help us catch the killer- which all turned out to be easily broken or thrown out- and before I knew it, I had spent nearly half an hour standing around. By the time I reached the secret place we all agreed on eating at, there was no food left for me.

"Um, I thought you were really cool when you did that!" Yukiko said nervously, beads of sweat rolling down her jaw. I sighed in reply.

"Ah, actually… earlier you..." Yukiko began. However, she found herself having trouble continuing, her whispers barely sounding audible with Ohtani's snoring. Yukiko looked down at Ohtani's mouth with a strange glimmer in her eyes.

"If we cover her nose and mouth, do you think she'll stop?" Yukiko asked, her tone sounding rather dark. I flinched and waved my hands frantically in front of my face.

"Sh-She might die if we do that, Yukiko-chan…!" I replied nervously. Yukiko muttered in reply, sounding a bit frustrated and angry. Suddenly, we heard something rustle on the outside of our tents. For some reason, I felt myself become very nervous and backed up to our belongings.

"Is… i-is someone there…?" I whimpered softly. Yukiko suddenly stood up as the tent's curtains for door slowly opened. When they were open wide enough, a dark face peeked in, causing me to shiver. But before I could even think about screaming, Yukiko suddenly smacked the figure earning a grunt and knead them in what I would assume to the chest. The figure gasped in pain and fell inside the tent, landing where Yukiko was just sleeping. I blinked in surprise when I saw a familiar head of bleach blonde hair.

"Ka… Kanji-kun?" I muttered under my breath. It was most definitely Kanji… who was laying unconscious. I looked up at Yukiko who was covering her mouth with her hands.

"I thought you said you were going to be more gentle with him" I remarked, remembering her words that day in the television when she smacked him. Yukiko frailed her hands in front of her face like I had done so not to long ago.

"I-I didn't know that it was Kanji! What even brought that up so suddenly?!" Yukiko squeaked. I looked down at Kanji's unconscious body, sweat rolling down my jaw.

"Well anyway… What should we do now? There isn't enough room for the two of us to sleep on my side" I pointed out. Yukiko hummed in thought while fidgeting.

"I suppose… the only thing for us to do is to sleep in the boys tent..." Yukiko suggested slowly. I felt my face heat up at the idea, standing up in surprise.

"S-Sleep with the guys? But won't we be e-expelled if we get caught?" I asked, stuttering. Yukiko smiled for some reason, ushering me towards the tent's entrance.

"We can't really sleep here, can we? Let's just go over there without making too much noise. It'll be fine, I promise" Yukiko replied, sounding almost like an older sist. I felt my face heat up more before nodding. Yukiko left the tent first, then me, and as quiet as a slithering snake- walked towards the guys tent. The tent was closed, but not zipped. We could also see light coming from the inside.

"Nise, Yosuke… Are you guys up? We're coming in…!" Yukiko whispered. I felt my heart skipp a beat or two as Yukiko opened the tent's entrance and walked in. Shyly, I followed her inside. Hanamura and Nise were playing what appears to be a game of cards, their eyes wide as they stared at us.

"G… Good evening" I greeted shyly, feeling my face becoming unbearably hot.

"Hey, wait… What are you doing here?!" Hanamura asked softly. Yukiko and I sat down across from them as my face began to drip in sweat. I really have to calm down.

Clearing my throat, I replied "We can't go back to our tent..."

"You see, um, Kanji came in and he suddenly just passed out unconscious. Right Hitomi-chan?" Yukiko explained, turning her attention towards me to back up her lie. Being too embarrassed to be in the same tent as the guys, I simply nodded in agreement.

"Why do I get the feeling you're lying to us, Yukiko?" Nise asked as he eyes Yukiko suspiciously. Yukiko simply laughed nervously, a hand on her right cheek.

"Anyone caught doing something they shouldn't be right..." Morooka's voice suddenly slurred from the distance.

"It's King Moron!" Hanamura squeaked. I quickly turned off the lamp as the boys began to clean up their little card games.

"Uh, quick hide…!" Nise instructed nervously as he placed his cards behind him.

"Wh-Where?!" Yukiko asked, sounding nervous. I began to look around the tent for anywhere the two of us could hide, when an arm suddenly pulled me.

"Uh, under here for now!" I heard Hanamura instruct as my face smashed into a person's chest. The sleeping bags that Hanamura and Nise were sitting on top of suddenly began to shift. That's when I realized that Hanamura was holding onto me and trying desperately to hide him and myself underneath it. Now knowing the situation, I quickly helped him pull the sleeping bag up and hid our bodies inside of the sleeping bag. My heart was pounding loudly in my ears as I held onto Hanamura, not caring at the moment that this could have been viewed as something inappropriate.

"...To find out that they got their miserable asses kicked out of school!" Morooka slurred, his footsteps becoming louder and louder. Feeling my heart about to burst, I tightly hugged Hanamura for comfort in which he did the most unexpected thing- he hugged me back. My heart stopped at that moment, taken completely by surprised by his actions. Hanamura wasn't hugging me the way that I was hugging him- tight and afraid. It was more… gentle and comforting. I felt my heart starting to beat normally again as my grip loosened, becoming more loose.

"Hey, 're you sleepin' in there?" Morooka asked, sounding... drunk. "If you two are in there, you better answerrrr…!"

"U-Uh, we're asleep!" Hanamura replied, his voice cracking.

"Don't get cute, Hanamura! Shut up and go back to sleep!" Morooka snapped. He suddenly groaned, muttering something about having too much and walked off.

Once we could no longer hear Morooka's footsteps, Hanamura slowly let go of me and sat up, letting out a breath of relief.

"Hah… I just aged ten year in two minutes…!" Hanamura whimpered. Sitting up myself, the four of us shuffled a bit and sat around in a circle. Nise turned on the lamp and set it down in the middle.

"So, what are you two going to do now, huh? You guys can't stay here" he pointed out, looking over at Yukiko.

"I know, but it's not like we can walk outside right now…!" Yukiko quickly whispered in reply. She looked over to me and pressed her lips together. "Look, we can stay here until it gets to be light out again. We'll leave before everyone's awake." I looked over to Nise who sighed and scratched his head.

"Well… alright, fine. That sounds okay, why not?" Nise said with a sigh and a nervous smile. Yukiko and I sighed in relief. I nodded a thank you to him in which he winked with a smile.

"Huh? Yosuke, you're face is all red. Are you alright?" Yukiko suddenly asked, causing Nise and I to look at Hanamura. Just as Yukiko has pointed out, Hanamura's face is as red as Yukiko's red headband. Surprised by the sudden attention he had, Hanamura blinked in surprise and touched his face.

"H-Huh? It is? Uh..." Hanamura replied, his eyes darting around the tent. When his eyes locked with mine, he flinched and his already red face started to become even redder. It was at this moment that I noticed Nise narrow his eyes in suspicion and lean in towards Hanamura, causing him to lean back.

"You didn't make any advantages on Hitomi-chan, did you?" Nise growled. I blinked in surprise as my heart skipped a beat when Nise called me "Hitomi-chan". So far, even though he had given me the okay to call him "Nise-kun", he hasn't once called me by my first name- still sticking with "Narukami-chan". It felt... surprisingly embarrassing and yet nice at the same time.

"W-Wh-Wha-What?!" Hanamura stuttered violently, the tips of his ears and even half of his neck turning red now. "O-Of course not, why would I do that?! It was hot in here, s-so that's probably why!" Nise's eyes only narrowed some more as he stared at Hanamura in what I can interpret as… anger?

"That's true, it is rather stuffy in here..." Yukiko agreed, catching Hanamura and Nise's attention. Yukiko then pointed at the guys things and continued, "Anyway, put your stuff here down the middle. Hitomi-chan and I will sleep on the right side and you guys can sleep on the left side." Without wasting any time, Hanamura started doing that to be freed from Nise's suspicious eyes. Once everything was set up, I laid down next Yukiko- who was closer to the bags- turned off the lamp and we all said goodnight. It didn't take me that long to fall asleep, despite sleeping in the same tent as the guys. At first I was nervous because I thought it was going to be _all of us_ sleeping in the same sleeping bag. But now… I feel rather relaxed. I suppose it's because I've made friends… or maybe it's because I'm sleeping with my friends that… I felt the most joy in years. I suppose I'm just happy because…

I feel like I'm _actually_ here...

* * *

 _Saturday, June 18th_ | _Late afternoon..._

Just like Yukiko and I had promise, once it was almost sunrise- we returned to our tent. It took us by surprise when we found Ohtani embracing Kanji in her sleep. To put him out of his misery, we pried Ohtani off of Kanji and dragged him back to the guy's tent where we had slept- without even waking them.

When everyone took down the tents, it was time for breakfast. I tied my hair and was about to head over to the picnic shelter… However, I found myself helping out a few people take down their tents due to inexperience and found that my breakfast had been eaten once again by my classmates… or in this case, my kohai- Kanji. I didn't show any signs of being upset, especially since he seemed rather dazed and confused. I couldn't really get upset- even if I _was_ starving- because it was technically our fault that he had been crushed by Ohtani.

We had spent the first half of the afternoon cleaning once again, although I ended up doing most of the cleaning. Nise was still getting freaked out by the bugs and getting chased down by Yukiko, and Hanamura seemed to have been thinking excitedly about something to actually work.

Once we were allowed with free time, Hanamura excitedly brought Kanji along with us and led us all somewhere. When we reached Hanamura's destination, I was rather surprised to see a beautiful river surrounded by trees just below the cliff we were standing on. Being beaten down with the sunlight, it was sparkling. I couldn't help but crouch down next to the river and watch it flow. You don't see such clean rivers like this in the city. There's always something dirty flowing down it.

"Mmmph! It's over at… last!" Nise sighed in relief after he stretched. I stood up next to Hanamura and Kanji- who was squatting down, dazed- to join in the little group.

"It went by so fast, I can't believe it" I admitted. Yukiko looked at me and smiled.

"And the best part is… nobody got expelled!" Yukiko added. I nodded in agreement as a warm feeling washed over me, the corners of my lips twitching. Nise laughed as he did a double thumbs up.

"Haha, true that!" Nise laughed. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that Hanamura was looking around the river while readjusting the strap of the sports bag that he had grabbed before arriving here.

"Sweet! Looks like we're the only ones here!" Hanamura exclaimed loudly before looking back at us. "Alrighty then, since we're all here… Let's go swimming!" I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's sudden announcement. Swimming? That certainly doesn't sound bad but… I was busy on the 16th and ended up not going to Croco Fur to buy a swimsuit...

"Dude, you seriously want to go swimming…?" Kanji asked, baffled. With a flick of a wrist, he looked away with a sigh and continued "I'm to tired man, I'll pass..." Hanamura and Nise blinked in surprise at Kanji's words, raising an eyebrow at the tired boy.

"Whoa hey, what's up? You look totally spent" Hanamura pointed out.

"Didn't you sleep last night?" Nise asked.

"Hey!" Kanji suddenly exclaimed, causing the two boys to yelp and hug each other in fear. "I didn't sleep with anyone last night! Why would you even say that?!" I felt a bead of sweat roll down my jaw at his words as he looked away again and huffed.

"It's just… I thought I got pissed and ran out of the tent last night…" Kanji began, looking confused. "It's so weird…Was it a dream? When I woke up, I was in Yosuke-senpai's tent…"

"It-It was a dream," Yukiko quickly insisted. "It must have."

"Okay…?" Kanji replied, making a confused face. "Anyway, I'm not taking a dip."

"Aw, come on! It wouldn't be any fun if I'm the only one who goes swimmin'..." Hanamura said with a rather sad tone. He suddenly looked at Yukiko and myself. I blinked as I stared back at him, confused.

"What are you looking at us for…?" Yukiko asked. Hanamura then looked over at Nise who blinked in surprise.

"What? I ain't goin' in after all that runnin' around I did. The last thing I need is to pass out on the way home" Nise huffed as he tied his hands behind his head. "Look man, if you wanna swim, go swimmin' alone. It's pretty clear that no one else wants to join ya." Hanamura stared at Nise for a moment before suddenly smirking, causing me to blink in surprise.

"Yeah but… Yukiko, you kinda owe me one" Hanamura said with a sly tone as he looked back at Yukiko. Yukiko flinched at his words and looked away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Nise suddenly began as he grabbed Hanamura by the shoulder. "This was your plan all along wasn't it?! To see Yukiko in a swimsuit? Now you're _definitely_ going to swim alone!"

"You owe me one too, ya know. And not just me, Narukami-chan too. Remind me again just who it was who ate her dinner last night...?" Hanamura pointed out with a sly smile, causing Nise and Yukiko to flinch. I placed a hand over my stomach at the mention of dinner, feeling myself starting to get hungry again. I was so mesmerized by the river that I almost forgot that I was starving.

"Well, okay yeah I mean, we do owe you guys, but… There's no way I'm going to let the girls swim! It'll just be you and me, **buddy** " Nise began, his voice firm and rather dark when he uttered the word "buddy". Hanamura leaned away from Nise a little, looking a little disgusted. But then Hanamura smirked once again and looked at me, causing me to blink.

"You owe me too, Narukami-chan! And besides, don't you wanna go swimming? A little birdie told me that you tried to buy a swimsuit the other day~" Hanamura said playfully. I blinked in surprise and nodded. Did the cashier from Croco Fur tell him...?

"Yes, but I ended up forgetting to buy one" I admitted. Nise blinked in surprise as his face suddenly turned red.

"Narukami-chan… in a swimsuit…?" Nise muttered, sounding surprised. For some reason, the guys were all staring at me and I could feel my heart skip a beat for some reason. Flustered, I waved my hands in front of my face.

"Ah, w-well, like I said- I ended up forgetting to buy one so..." I began. Yukiko stood in front of me in some sort of protective way and laughed nervously.

"I don't have a swimsuit either! Too bad!" Yukiko pointed out, giggling in victory shortly after. For some reason, Nise and Kanji seemed rather disappointed while Hanamura still had his sly smile stuck on his face. Laughing mischievously, Hanamura suddenly unzipped his sports bag and pulled out two swimsuits. In his left hand was a gray and white striped bikini top with decorative white buttons and a short black shorts held with what appeared to be a white belt. In his right hand was a white and hot pink outer line bikini top with a white skirt, a hot pink line dashing through the top of the skirt. Yukiko and I couldn't help but stare in shock. Just how long did he have that?

"Tadaaaa! I've got you covered!" Hanamura cheered happily. "From Junes summer line that just came in for the summer. Pretty swanky, huh? I'm sure they'll fit you perfectly!"

"Is that what you left to go get at Junes? You pervert…!" Nise growled, his left eyebrow twitching violently as he gritted his teeth.

"Oh dude… that is messed up…" Kanji remarked. Hanamura simply laughed at the boy's comments and approached Yukiko and I, handing me the gray, white, and black one while giving Yukiko the white and hot pink one.

"Well, you two go on and change in the woods over there! We'll go in the opposite direction and wait for you here, okay?" Hanamura instructed with a blinding smile. He then pulled out and gave both of us a small bag to put our clothes in. Yukiko began to make excuses, but I interrupted her saying "Okay, just wait for a bit" and started walking towards the woods. I could hear Yukiko sigh in defeat as she caught up to me, while Hanamura was cheering happily as he and the boys walked in the opposite direction.

3rd POV

Sometime later, the boys finished changing and returned to the cliffside where they had promised to meet the girls in. Yosuke was wearing orange swimming trunks with a big sunflower on the right side of it while Nise was wearing an interesting green, yellow, and white swimming trunks that had a cool stripe pattern running down the sides.

"Huh? We're the first ones?" Yosuke asked to no one in particular as he looked around, noticing it's vaccancy. Nise tied his hands behind his head, closing his eyes.

"No surprise. Girl's just take longer, you know? Especially if it's something as embarrassin' as showing themselves in swimsuits" Nise explained with a huff. He was still pretty upset at Yosuke for picking swimsuits for the girls. Nise is the type of guy who thinks that women should only show that amount of skin to their husband, which is why he had become so defensive when Yosuke had suggested to Yukiko about swimming with him. Of course, Yosuke knew this and made sure to make Nise feel guilty about him eating Hitomi's dinner in order to continue with his plans.

Kanji, being the only one who wasn't going swimming, was starting to feel nervous about seeing his female senpai's in swimsuits- especially Hitomi. He had great respect for each of them since they all saved his life, but Hitomi was the one who first said that his creations was cute and called him talented. His young heart can't help but pound in a different way when he recalls those words.

Of course, it wasn't only Kanji was becoming nervous (as well as excited) in seeing the girls in the swimsuits. Yosuke was, obviously, since he was the one who got the swimsuits. Nise was also getting excited, but he wouldn't _dare_ admit it- especially to Yosuke.

Starting to grow impatient, Hanamura crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his right pointer finger to his arm.

"Come on, they're taking forever! How far into the woods did they go to change?" Yosuke complained. Nise and Kanji ignored Yosuke's complaint as Nise dropped his arms down to his side. Kanji turned his attention towards Nise and noticed the trunks that he was wearing.

"Hey man, those trunks are awesome!" Kanji complimented, sounding a bit aggressive. Nise flinched in surprise, blinking rapidly as he began to sweat.

"Erm… they're cool, aren't they?" Nise replied, trying to sound as if he wasn't bothered by Kanji's compliment- even though he was. Kanji replied with an enthusiastic "yeah, totally!" before noticing Nise's rather well toned body. For a guy who was only 5'7- five inches shorter than Kanji- he had rather large muscles and well structured abs- coming close to a five pack. Kanji was impressed by this, considering how much of a pansy Nise tends to act.

"Hey," Kanji began, "How strong are you? Can I feel your biceps?" Nise and Yosuke froze at Kanji's innocent question, their blood draining from their faces. The feeling of uneasiness that they had felt before Kanji ran off to the girls tent was returning to them. The uneasiness of Kanji's questionable sexuality his shadow proudly proclaimed when they fought it...

"Uh..." was all that Nise could manage. Kanji, oblivious to Nise's discomfort jerked his arms back in a fighting position, his hands curled into fists and turned to show his fingers.

"Come on, let's brawl! I wanna see how strong you are, senpai!" Kanji shouted, starting to feel excited to about testing out his senpai's strength. Nise screamed in a high pitch and started to run about, Kanji chasing him down- thinking that it was part of the fight. Yosuke sighed in frustration at the duo, a small tinge of jealousy biting him when he noticed Nise's body.

 _Maybe I should start working out more? Or join a club?_ Yosuke wondered. If he had a body like that- or have an even better one- he would most definitely win girls over and be the ladies man that he always dreamed of being. Of course, there was only one girl who would still remain in his heart- Saki. He made that vow to keep Saki in his heart and mind until he captured her killer and threw him behind bars.

Meanwhile, with the girls, Yukiko had finished putting on her swimsuit. She was blushing a little in embarrassment, feeling very unmotivated to walk out there. Suddenly, she heard a soft scream coming from the direction of where Hitomi was changing. Startled, Yukiko rushed over to where Hitomi was and saw the silver loose haired girl crouched down, trembling- her clothes inside of the plastic bag Yosuke had given them.

"Hitomi-chan! What happened, are you alright?!" Yukiko asked, rushing to her friend's side. It was then that Yukiko noticed how soft Hitomi's skin was, but kept it to herself since the silver haired girl seemed to have been in pain. Hitomi slowly turned to face Yukiko, her face red with embarrassment. Yukiko felt herself become angry, ready to fight anyone who had brought harm to the silver haired girl. Being taller than Hitomi and possibly older, Yukiko has sort of become used to showing her motherly side to her. Hitomi faced Yukiko and looked down at her chest to which Yukiko didn't even notice a problem… at first.

"I-It ripped..." Hitomi stuttered, pointing at the small ripped line that stopped three stripes down. "Hanamura said it would fit… but it didn't and I ended up ripping it… What should I do…? I can't go out there now..." Yukiko noticed that the girl in front of her wasn't crying despite her tone, her eyes looking strangely darker than before. Hitomi looked up at Yukiko, her face becoming redder.

"Do you think he'll hate me?! Wha-What should I do, Yukiko-chan?! Should I pay him back?!" Hitomi asked, her body trembling even more than before. Yukiko couldn't help but stare at her friends in surprise, astonished that Hitomi was getting so worked up about a small rip. No… that wasn't just it, it sounded as if… she was _afraid_. Afraid that it would be because of this small rip- that could have been easily fixed- that Yosuke would leave Hitomi. Yukiko didn't know why Hitomi was getting so afraid at the thought since she had Nise, herself and Kanji as friends nor did she know how close the two of them were. But she quickly pushed them aside as she smiled reassuringly at the trembling girl.

"Don't worry, Hitomi-chan. I'm sure Yosuke planned on letting us keep these. After all, didn't he buy them?" Yukiko asked. Hitomi thought about it for a minute before remembering the blue bag Yosuke was carrying the day they all went shopping. Slowly, Hitomi nodded, becoming a lot calmer than before. Yukiko couldn't help but giggle, finding the now calm girl to be very cute. Just like Yosuke and Nise, Yukiko found herself to care a lot about Hitomi and found her straight face but emotional voice strangely adorable. Yukiko wanted to find out why Hitomi is always keeping a straight face and what made her that way. It's almost as if her face has frozen like this. But of course, this wasn't the time to ask such things and Yukiko helped Hitomi stand up.

"Come on, let's go. We don't want the guys waiting forever" Yukiko said before sighing. She really didn't want to go out there either, but Hitomi was looking forward to swimming so… just this once, she'll go along with Yosuke's pervy plans. Hitomi said and did nothing for a moment before nodding. Yukiko quickly grabbed her bag of clothes and the two of them hid them in a secret location where they knew no one would find and started walking towards the cliff where they could see Yosuke watching Nise and Kanji argue over something.

Hitomi's heart was racing with each step she took, slowly becoming more and more nervous about her ripped swimsuit top. She didn't want Yosuke to hate her for something small like this. _I have to apologize as soon as we greet them…_ Hitomi told herself, nodding.

"Sorry for the wait..." Yukiko sighed when the two approached the guys, causing them to freeze and look at their direction. Yukiko was shyly hiding her hands behind her back while Hitomi had her hands in front of her chest- above her heart to cover the rip- like she would when summoning a persona.

The boys were absolutely shocked to see the duo, their faces turning a bright shade of red the longer they stared at them. All of their hearts were pounding at the sight, feeling as if they were being spellbound. Yosuke had thought that they would look good- especially Hitomi- but he didn't think that they would look _this_ good. Nise, unlike Yosuke who was thinking about their curves, was becoming embarrassed at the amount of skin the two were showing. He was used to seeing Yukiko's skin since they would go the beach together when they were kids, but the amount of skin Hitomi was showing… _Are all swimming shorts_ _that_ _short…?_ Nise asked himself, eyeing the silver haired girls legs. Kanji- well… He was a mixture of Yosuke and Nise.

"Whoa… Man…" was all that Yosuke could manage to say, completely entrance by the curves of his classmates.

"D-Don't just stand there! Either look away or say something!" Yukiko stuttered nervously as she blushed.

"Um… Well then, you two look cute…" Nise complimented shyly, smiling a little.

"Wh-Wha-?!" Yukiko sputtered. She looked away with her face redder than before and continued "O-Okay, I've heard enough..." Yukiko was rather surprised to hear her childhood friend say that to her for the first time, since they have been together for a long time and went to the beach often during summer vacation. The words somehow made the black haired girl's heart to pound.

Hitomi, embarrassed by the attention, suddenly bowed- snapping the boys out of their trance.

"I-I'm sorry, Hanamura! I didn't mean to rip it, I swear! Honest!" Hitomi blurted out, her face becoming beet red as she started to tremble again. Yosuke blinked in surprise at the sudden words that came out of silver haired girl's mouth, raising an eyebrow.

"Ripped? Hold on, I'm confused- what happened?" Yosuke asked. Hitomi stood up straight again and shyly revealed the rip she had accidentally made. The boys stared at her chest for a moment before noticing the rip. Quickly realizing that they were staring at Hitomi's chest, they blushed once again and averted their eyes.

"Oh, um, well… I-It's cool" Yosuke began, once he had regained his composure. "To be honest, I thought it was part of the design." Hitomi blinked in surprise at Yosuke's confession and felt a part of her relax. She decided to confirm this as something that Yosuke not hating her. With that out of the way, Yosuke looked back and forth between Yukiko and Hitomi- a wide smile forming with each glance.

"Anyway, I gotta admit- I thought you guys would look good but not _that_ good!" Yosuke began, catching everyone's attention. At the mention of appearances, Nise and Kanji found themselves staring at the girls once again as Yukiko and Hitomi blushed in embarrassment. "They might be childish on the inside, but I bet they're gonna turn into some _fine-looking_ women before too long! Don't you think so, Nise?"

"Yeah…" Nise muttered without thinking as he gazed at Hitomi's blushed face. _Silver and red look surprisingly nice together…_ he thought.

Sadly for those two, they didn't know that they had accidentally crossed the line for Yukiko, who was shaking slightly now in anger.

"You guys crossed the line…" Yukiko glared as she placed her hands on her hips. Too angry to fully think of her actions, Yukiko ran towards Nise and Yosuke and pushed them both off of the cliff with a move Nise had once taught her for self defense, yelling "You jerks!"

She was beyond angry at the fact that Yosuke had so easily changed the subject after Hitomi apologized. Of course, they didn't see her trembling earlier so she really shouldn't have been so rough with them. But the scared and concerned tone in Hitomi's voice as she apologized really made Yukiko want to hug her, telling her that everyone was alright and that it was okay to cry. She thought that Yosuke would have picked up on it as well, but when he didn't… well, she pushed him. Nise was also pushed for agreeing with Yosuke and not noticing Hitomi's true feelings.

Meanwhile, the girl who Yukiko had avenged on the other hand was blinking rapidly in both confusion and surprise at the black haired girl's action. Hitomi didn't really know why she had pushed the guys in, but for some reason, she felt as though she couldn't move with Yukiko fuming in anger at the moment.

With Yosuke and Nise; Yosuke was laughing happily as he fell, regretting nothing. Nise, too stunned to put together what had just happened, simply stared blankly at the world in front of him. Kanji, just as surprised and confused as Nise, crouched down and watched the two upperclassmen fall into the river below them.

"Whoa! A-Are you two okay down there?" Kanji asked in a loud voice.

"Honestly… Aren't they the worst, Kanji-kun?" Yukiko asked, turning her attention to Kanji. Kanji looked over his shoulder to look at the black haired upperclassmen, when he noticed that he could see beneath her skirt...

"Wh-What…?" Kanji managed to mutter as he continued to stare in the middle of Yukiko's legs. Yukiko, oblivious to where Kanji was staring, stared at Kanji for a full minute. Unbeknownst to Kanji, his nose had started bleeding. As he continued to stare up Yukiko's skirt, Yukiko suddenly shrieked in disgust and shoved Kanji off the cliff. Hitomi watched in shock, catching Kanji's jacket that had flew off him when Yukiko's pushed him.

"Agh!" Yosuke yelled as he hugged his wet body, shivering when the water splashed him and Nise due to Kanji falling not to far from them. "Shit, I-It's freezing! Y-Y-You didn't have to toss us in like that…!"

"Who cares?!" Yukiko yelled back, crossing her arms below her chest. "You were going to swim anyways!" Yosuke didn't have anything to say in response to that, rather shocked that Yukiko was acting… a bit like Nise. _Damnit, those two hang out too much…_ Yosuke thought to himself.

Kanji gasped as he came up for air, tightly hugging himself like Yosuke and Nise before sneezing loudly.

Hitomi looked down at the boys- especially Kanji- in pity, hoping that they were alright.

"Huh?" Yukiko blinked in surprise as she looked around, catching Hitomi's attention. "Do you hear something over there?" Hitomi blinked in confusion at Yukiko's words and closed her eyes to listen for something. Upon listening closely, she could hear a man heaving. Opening her eyes, she looked at the direction of the heaving and saw that it was Mr. Morooka vomiting further up the river…

"So that's why no one else was here…" Yukiko stated. Hitomi gasped as she noticed a disturbing yellow-orange mesh of vomit floating down the river.

"Y-You guys…! Get out of there, something's floating down the river!" Hitomi warned, her tone screaming in concern despite her ever straight face. But it was too late, the boys looked up and saw a nasty pile of vomit about to join them in their little bath- causing them all to scream in pure despair. Hitomi and Yukiko looked the other way to avoid themselves getting sick at the scene that was about to occur. The last thing they heard before everything returning to its peaceful self was a sniffle coming from the heaving teacher- who was oblivious of his victims just down the way.

* * *

 _Evening…_

Dusk had came, the group of five walking in their jerseys while carrying their stuff. It was time to leave, and the boys were more than eager to leave behind a very _very_ painful memory. Hitomi and Yukiko walked behind the guys as they walked towards the leaving trail that everyone had to gather before getting onto the bus to return to the school and go straight home. Kanji, who had to dry out his jersey before wearing it again sniffed his shirt.

"Do I smell like puke?" he asked the group, unable to pick up the scent of vomit from the earlier incident. Yosuke and Nise felt their stomach's turn at the memories and sighed.

"Please don't talk about it..." the duo muttered. Hitomi felt her own stomach turn as well- however, it was due to hunger and not disgust. She couldn't wait to go home.

"Again, it feels like I've lost something important today" Yosuke groaned to himself. Hitomi felt bad as she watched the three tall guys walk in front of her, confused as to why Yukiko had pushed them in the first place. Little did she know that the first two victims were because of her and the third one being an unfortunate soul.

"I'm just glad that we found out before we got in!" Yukiko chirped as she smiled at Hitomi, earning a groan of pain from the guys.

As the group walked, Hitomi noticed a familiar fat figure walking out to the trail, separating from the woods. It didn't take long for Hitomi to realize that the figure was Hanako Ohtani. The others soon spotted the big girl as well, causing Kanji to yelp in surprise and fear. The large girl stopped walking as she kept her eyes to the ground, her fat cheeks a nice shade of flustered pink. She seems embarrassed for some reason as she looked up at Kanji. Nise and Yukiko started to become excited at the scene before them. With the sun setting the sky a lovely color of golden-orange, the girl looked more appealing that her usual self. Despite the past incident that happened back in Okina City, even Yosuke started to feel excited.

"Whoa, what is this?!" Nise exclaimed teasingly as he glanced over at Kanji who was flinching rather violently.

"Is she going to…?" Yukiko began, a little shy. "Confess her love?!" Yosuke finished, sounding excited. Hitomi blinked in confusion as she looked at her companions around her, confused as to why they were getting so worked up.

"Confess her love…?" Hitomi repeated, a feeling of nostalgia washing over her as she uttered the words. For some reason, her heart skipped a beat as she too felt excited. Hitomi didn't understand the meaning of the words herself, her body was just reacting. Deep within her, the persona's that she had gathered from her bonds with her friends all felt sad knowing this, pitying their mistress. Hitomi was suddenly dragged away by Yosuke and Nise, as the four upperclassmen left their underclassmen to experience his first love confession in peace. But of course, they want to see how the young man would react, so they watched the scene from behind a tree- Hitomi kneeling on the ground then Yukiko, Nise Yosuke. Kanji remained frozen as Hanako slowly walked towards him, all the blood in his face draining as he _finally_ remembered what happened last night…

 _So then… it wasn't a dream…?_ Kanji thought to himself, images of him being smothered between her breasts flashing into his mind. Kanji gulped loudly as he began to wonder if this was really going to be a love confession or a beating for being considered a pervert. When Hanako and Kanji was standing face to face, Kanji could feel his heart beating loudly within his chest.

Kanji cleared his throat and greeted, "H-How's it going?" Despite his throat clearing, his voice still managed to crack in embarrassment. Hanako mumbled, trying to find the most appropriate words.

"Well I..." Hanako began, looking up at Kanji. Kanji's heart began to pound loudly in his ears as he struggled to suppress nervous laughter. He was terrified of what might happen if she confessed and how she would react when he turns her down. It was a terrifying thought… especially what happened to Yosuke's scooter the other day.

"You see, guys like yourself, they..." Hanako continued. "...They just aren't my type dude. Sorry that I have to dump ya." Kanji felt an explosion of many emotions within himself that his eyes rolled to the back of his head in shock, internally screaming. Hanako, unaware of Kanji's reaction, looked over to the side.

"You.. should forget about last night" Hanako began as she ran her meaty fingers through her hair, flipping it as she turned around to leave. "...It never happened." And with that, Hanako left- walking towards the sunset- leaving Kanji and the other four. Kanji's mouth dropped a rather far distance as he fell to his knees. He honestly had no idea how to feel right now… mostly relief. But the surprise he received from _being_ rejected was just so much for him, his internal screaming continued. A lot of things have happened over the past few days since Kanji was added to the group… Hitomi and the rest of our hero's couldn't help but feel happy, despite the shocking results. Truly, they were going to be friends for a long, _long_ time…

And that thought alone made Hitomi be in the happiest state she has ever been in.


	15. Pop Idol - Ryo Kujikawa

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" the man with the long nose, known as Igor, greeted. The platinum-blonde haired woman next to him, known as Margaret, looked up; a small smile creeping to her lips.

"I'm very impressed. You have now made a great number of memories" Margaret began as a card showing a silhouette of a figure hanging upside down, descended in front of Margaret; dissolving into the old book on her lap. The ragged book grew a light blue, as if becoming one with the card, and Margaret opened it up. There, on one of the pages was a moving picture of Hitomi talking Naoki.

"Those memories, along with your new bond, have given you the 'hanged man' arcana" Margaret continued. She then looked at Hitomi, her face seemingly copying hers- straight with little emotion.

"As the journey and flows of dialogue amongst you all," Margaret began once again, "so will the understanding you have of one another." Margaret then broke out into a small smile, looking like a mother or elder sister who was proud of a younger one.

"As a result, it will create a much deeper bond" Margaret explained with a giggle. Igor opened his eyes slightly, knowing that Hitomi was about to awaken in the real world.

"Now then" Igor began, catching Hitomi's attention, "Until we meet again." Hitomi nodded and slowly closed her eyes as her vision began to blur- darkness engulfing the room.

* * *

 _Sunday, June 19th | Morning…_

A handsome boy- about 5'11- with fluffy copper hair that was mostly covered by a black beanie, brown eyes that shone through lensless black glasses, and had tan skin was walking around the small town of Inaba; feeling a wave of nostalgia crash into him. The young man had lived in this town before. Back when he was a child, he would live here with his grandmother who was far too kind to him and his parents when they were facing financial troubles. The boy really cared for his grandmother and instantly thought of her when he started having trouble in his business and instantly decided to move in with her for a while.

One would consider the boy to be a bit flashy- or rather, _handsome_. With his fit features that didn't make him too buff or too slim, his blue and orange tank top perfectly covering his chest; his clean white pants seductively sticking to his legs. If anyone were to look at the boy, they would have known that he was from the city- with his ruby stud earring in his right ear, white and orange sneakers, and loose white socks. No matter which way one would look at him, they would all see him as a city boy.

"You realize this means that Ryouta is here for real, right?" a girl with short dark brown hair asked her friend, catching the boy's attention as he walked.

"I can't believe a star that big is coming here!" the girl's friend replied with a dreamy sigh. The boy narrowed his eyes in slight anger and annoyance as he repositioned his grip on his orange and white shopping bag.

 _Annoying…,_ the boy thought to himself.

* * *

Wandering some more around his childhood town, the boy finally found himself at the almighty store that practically ruled the town he once knew- Junes. The boy stared at the store for a moment, wondering when it exactly was put here.

 _All my favorite shops closed down because of this place…,_ the boy thought as he sighed softly, recalling the many closed stores and shops he had once loved. After a moment of staring, the boy finally entered the store and did some shopping for his grandmother. The boy was rather annoyed when he heard a _painfully_ familiar song play as he grabbed the first few items of his shopping list. It was a song called "True Story" sung by a famous pop idol.

 _They're playing it all the way out here, too… what a pain,_ the boy growled as he quickly continued his shopping, wanting to leave the store as quickly as possible.

After purchasing everything on his grandmother's list, the boy quickly left the store and sat down in the Junes food court, letting out a long sigh. The boy scratched the back of his head through his beanie, not caring if his bangs became messy and slipped out.

Once the boy's head was satisfied, he let out another sigh and closed his eyes. The one thing he really enjoyed about the country was the fresh air. Compared to the city, the air he was breathing in now was certainly much better. You could smell pretty much _everything_. The mud, the growing rice and vegetables, the watering smells of meat from food stands, the wild flowers, the grass, the rivers and lakes… everything. That's what a lot of people enjoyed about the country side- especially country born Japanese citizens. The fact that it was so open to nature and historic temples was amazing… Sure they had temples and shrines in the big city- but they're _nothing_ compared to the shrines built here, by the hands of monks. The boy's iPhone suddenly rang, causing his eyes to flash open and quickly pull it out of his shopping bag- thinking it was his grandmother. Without looking at the ID number, the boy pressed the answer button and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" the boy greeted.

" _Is that you, Ryo?_ " A familiar, elderly woman's voice asked. Ryo smiled a little as he relaxed in his chair.

"Yeah, it's Ryo" Ryo confirmed, closing his eyes.

" _Oh, that's good. You know how I am with this new fangled technology… Anyways dear, I was hoping that you could pick up some milk. I forgot to put it on the list_ " his grandmother explained, sounding a bit apologetic.

"You need some milk? Sure, no problem" Ryo replied as he opened his eyes, glancing over to his bag. It was full already, so he most likely had to carry it back to his grandmother's house.

" _Thank you so much, Ryo-chan. I'm so sorry for making you carry such a heavy thing_ " his grandmother apologized. Ryo couldn't help but smile warmly. His grandmother's voice was always so kind and soothing… it really helped him clear his mind. It was the main reason that he decided to move in with her.

"No, I don't mind- honest. It's good for guys like me to walk around" Ryo replied as he poked the plush phone strap looking like a potato… when it is actually a ganmodoki. "Okay Gran, I'll see you soon." Ryo then ended the call and looked at the picture of his grandmother in the contact, just before it vanished to his orange swirled wallpaper.

"Hey, is that him?" a man asked softly, catching Ryo's attention. Glancing over, he saw a couple staring at him and whispering to each other.

"No way, is that Ryouta...?!" the girl gasped, trying to identify the boy who looked strangely enough like the famous pop star- Ryouta who was suppose to come to Inaba on a hiatus. Clicking his tongue, Ryo stuffed his iPhone lazily inside the outer pocket of his shopping bag, slid the straps to his right shoulder, and quickly walked back inside the store.

Upon entering it, Ryo noticed the small crowd surrounding the elevators. There was no way he could wait around with that many people… if he stays in one place for too long, people will start to recognize him- like that couple just now. With an exhausted sigh, Ryo turned to the opposite side of the elevators and walked towards the lower stairs that lead to the clothing department.

As Ryo walked down the stairs, calmly at first, he started to tense up as he heard the sound of footsteps following him. The stairs were rather empty and should have only contained Ryo… not this mysterious person as well. Ryo would have not taken notice of this if it weren't for the rather powerful eyes staring at his back like a predator about to pounce his prey, patiently waiting for an opening.

 _Calm down Ryo… It's just a coincidence,_ Ryo thought to himself, trying to calm himself. Being known as the ever popular Ryouta, Ryo had experienced some rather terrifying stalking, abducting, and near rape incidents from both _male_ _and_ female's back in the city. The country is a bit more forgiving than the city though- so Ryo was a bit comfortable here. He just needed to remember to stay calm.

Entering the clothing department of Junes, Ryo easily slithered through the crowds of people due to his tall height. With a lot more people around him now though, he noticed that people were starting to stare at him. But not in the same way as that couple from earlier- almost identifying him by his stage name- but more in curiosity and interest due to his good looks and flashy city clothing. He found these stares rather calming, becoming a bit relaxed and rather flattered as he noticed girls starting to whisper and blush at the sight of him. That's when a sudden chill went down his spine- those eyes from earlier was on him once again, feeling more powerful than earlier. Ryo started to get nervous as he swallowed, continuing to walk as he repeatedly reminded himself that it was simply a coincidence. Walking into the women's section of the clothing department, Ryo felt the pair of eyes become extremely fierce- a shiver slowly crawling down his spine like a spider. An image of a large girl and a drunk man flashed into Ryo's mind, reminding him of the many instances he found himself in. Sweat began to drip from his face as he swallowed once again, quickening his speed to try and outrun this mysterious person. However, he could hear the footsteps of the mysterious person quicken as well.

 _Oh god, oh god, oh god…!_ Ryo panicked, taking a sharp left towards the stairs leading down to another set of stairs- where elevators awaited them. Ryo took two stairs at a time- something he can easily do thanks to his long legs. But his chaser was doing the same thing, loud thumps inching closer and closer to him with each step he took. Sweat fell off his chin as his eyebrows began to twitch violently, his heart pounding in his ears.

 _Dammit, how far is this guy gonna go?!_ Ryo was practically drenched in sweat right now, cursing at his stupidity for not bringing his fake gun or small taser he got to keep even after leaving the show business. Especially now since he could still sense those fearsome eyes nearby, quickly catching up with him.

Finally reaching the elevators, Ryo dashed towards the buttons and pushed the bottom one. Ryo's heart pounded violently as the sound of his chaser continued to grow louder.

 **Thump…**

 **Thump…**

 **Thump...**

The moment the elevator doors opened up, Ryo forcibly pushed himself in- instead of waiting for those occupying it to get out. If this was any normal situation, he would do just that. But Ryo's life was in danger here- so he had to make suffice with the negative comments he received from the people he pushed. Ryo quickly turned to the button board and pushed the "5" button which would bring him to his original destination. He let out a sigh as he found himself in the empty elevator… but it was too early for him to have relaxed. Just before the elevator doors closed, the mysterious chaser who has been after Ryo managed to barge through the elevator, causing him to throw himself back- smacking into the wall. Too terrified to see his chaser, Ryo covered his face with his arms crossed diagonally- his eyes stinging from incoming tears of fear.

"Here, you dropped this" a nice sounding voice simply said. Ryo opened his eyes in surprise and slowly uncrossed his arms. There in front of him stood a short silver haired girl with match silver eyes, straight faced with a hand stretched out to him.

 _A… girl? And a short, cute one at that…_ Ryo blinked as he stared at the girl. The girl looked… rather beautiful, despite her expressionless face. The girl had a rather nice, slim figure with larger than average breasts, nice and subtle curves while wearing a sleeveless green V styled vest, a white summer dress, black stockings from the waist down to her knees, and a pair of green flats. If Ryo hadn't been the ever famous Ryouta- who met models, comedians, actors, singers, and other pop idols like himself- he would have thought that she was a model. But of course, there was no way she was- he would have met her before. And with that unique color of silver for both hair _and_ eyes, she would have most _definitely_ be well known around the celebrity world.

Glancing down at the girl's hand, Ryo noticed something gently wrapped in her fingers was his iPhone- easily identified due to the ganmodoki hanging from it. Blinking in surprise, Ryo took his iPhone from the girl's hand.

"Wha..." Ryo muttered as he stared at his iPhone. He was confused as to he even dropped it… That's when Ryo remembered how carelessly he stuffed it into the outer pocket.

 _I get it. It must have fallen out then…_ Ryo thought to himself. Suddenly remembering the intense chase down he had experienced because of this girl, he looked up at her and frowned in anger.

"What the heck! Why didn't you say so a whole lot sooner?! If you had this you should have said something, not _chase_ me down!" Ryo snapped. The silver haired girl blinked rapidly in surprise, her straight face not changing even a bit as she did so.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know your name, so I thought it would have been best to approach you instead of calling you 'mister'" she explained, her tone sounding genuinely apologetic despite her expression. Ryo blinked in surprise at the girl's words.

 _She… doesn't know my name? Then that means that…_ Ryo let out a soft sigh and shook his head, feeling rather… happy.

"...Sorry for snapping like that" Ryo apologized as he looked at the girl with a tiny smile. "You did give it back to me instead of just keeping it, so thank you..." The girl blinked at him and nodded. Ryo could have sworn that he saw her lips twitch a little, as if trying to smile. The thought somehow… made Ryo happy. The elevator suddenly dinged, catching Ryo's attention. The doors opened once it had came to a stop, the "1" button lighting up. Without him even noticing it, the girl had pushed the button for the first floor- the entrance that started the whole chase down. The girl turned around and walked out before stopping once she was out of the elevator.

"Hey, that strap" the silver haired girl began, catching Ryo's attention. The girl turned around and tilted her head slightly, making it look as if she was smiling a little- even though she wasn't- and continued, "It looks pretty tasty." Ryo blinked twice in surprise at the girl's comment, speechless.

 _...Strange girl_ , Ryo thought as the elevator doors slowly closed, separating the two. Ryo couldn't really explain it, but talking with that girl was… rather refreshing.

* * *

 _Afternoon..._

Hitomi's POV

It was sometime in the afternoon on a lovely Sunday afternoon as I wandered through the streets, letting fate chose my course today. So far, it had been pretty exciting- with that little game of chase with that strange boy earlier. He looked rather familiar now that I think about it… Well, he's most likely from the city and is pretty handsome… Maybe he used to be a model? I shook my head with a soft sigh, giving up on trying to identify him. I was never the type of girl who followed the latest trends.

After the exhausting school camping trip yesterday, not everyone was very excited to be up and about. _Especially_ Hanamura- who sadly had to work today- and Nise, after the whole vomit incident with Morooka. I didn't want to risk texting Yukiko or Kanji in fear of disturbing their peaceful day off. I was all caught up in the material's we have been learning recently in school, so I didn't think that it was necessary to stay in all day and study. Leaving me with the option of reading a book over at Yomenaido Bookstore… which I ended up doing earlier today, buying a book title "Witch Detective". It's pretty cute and intense at the same time, I can't wait to finish it and find out what happens to the main protagonist…!

As I walked around the North side of the shopping district, I noticed a brown shiba inu staring in front of Souzai Daigaku. The Shiba Inu didn't have a collar on and was staring intently at the counter, where the cashier and chef carefully racked food in the display shelf protected with glass. I wonder if this dog is hungry… I slowly approached the dog and crouched down with my knees touching, causing it to look at me. The dog seemed wary of me, but didn't try to run away.

"Hey there little guy… are you hungry?" I asked gently, stretching my hand out for him to sniff. The dog's ears twitched at the sound of my voice and sniffed my hand. After a moment, the dog licked my hand in approval which caused me to gently rub his head. After a moment of petting, I stood up and approached the cashier, catching her attention and earning a warm smile.

"Welcome" she greeted cheerfully. I nodded in reply and pulled out my wallet from my small purse that could have been qualified for a wallet by itself.

"One steak croquet please" I requested, placing the required amount of money onto the counter. The cashier happily took the money and quickly made my order, handing it to me on a paper plate. With a nod, I turned around and walked over to the dog, whose tail started to wag at the sight of the steak. I crouched down again and placed the steak in front of the dog, which the little guy happily devoured. I watched him eat, feeling a sense of relaxation.

Once the dog was done eating, he happily barked at me before running off with energy it didn't seem to have earlier. Satisfied with the happy dog, I picked up the stained paper plate and threw it away next to the counter.

"Such a kind young lady you are" the cashier suddenly began, catching my attention. I walked over to the woman as she continued, "That dog has been staring at my steak for three straight days. The poor thing looked exhausted, but I couldn't give him any food since it would damage my reputation with the locals." I nodded in understanding, muttering "I see". The cashier seemed rather happy that I had fed the dog and even gave me some croquettes and steak skewers to bring home for dinner tonight. I couldn't just take the food for free, so I tried to pay the cashier- but she refused to take it and the two of us began a strange loop.

"Oh, hey there Senpai. Fancy meetin' you here" a voice suddenly called out, interrupting our little debate. It was at that moment the cashier dashed off to the back of the shop, winning our little war. With a defeated sigh, I stuffed the money back into my wallet and turned around- finding the owner of the voice from earlier to be Kanji.

"Oh hello, Kanji-kun" I greeted as I approached him. Kanji stared at me for a moment, seeming to be deep in thought. I stared back at him as I waited.

"Say… you have some time to kill?" Kanji suddenly asked. I blink in surprise and nodded.

"Sure" I replied. Kanji smiled and shook a fist next to his head to show his excitement.

"Sweet! Let's go grab somethin' to eat then!" Kanji cheered, before walking over to Aiya's. I followed behind him, the corners of my lips twitching as I watched him walk.

Upon entering the restaurant, Kanji took a seat on the stool connected to the counter in front of us. I followed him to the second stool next to him on his left and took a seat as well. Kanji and I ordered the liver-leek stir fry and pot stickers for him and a bowl of beef ramen for me. The two of us waited in silence before Kanji chuckled, catching my attention.

"Man, I'm starving for some Chinese!" Kanji admitted, sounding excited "The nikudon we had during the campin' trip was nice and all, but it wasn't enough to fill me." I stared at him for a moment, an idea popping into my head.

"...Even when you had my share during breakfast yesterday?" I teased. Kanji blushed in embarrassment and looked away.

"Th-That was just an accident, I-I was totally out of it at the time!" Kanji sputtered. I felt the corners of my lips twitch and something tickle my throat.

"I know, I'm only kidding Kanji-kun" I replied as I patted Kanji's shoulder. It took him a minute to calm down before he could look at me again.

"Hmm, now that I think about it..." Kanji suddenly began. "If I eat and then go home, I can't finish Ma's food. She serves so much, you'd think I have five brothers." I blinked in surprise at the new, resting my arms on the counter as an idea popped into my mind.

"Really? Well in that case, you should invite me or the others for dinner some time" I suggested. Nothing was better than a mother's cooking. It really says a lot about their personality. I certainly wouldn't mind trying out Kanji's mother's food. Kanji laughed a little as he rested his hands on his thighs, grinning at me.

"Haha, I think she'd only cook more then- about as much it would take to feed the army. She's tryin' to make my stomach burst!" Kanji laughed. I felt a warm feeling wash over me as I watched Kanji laugh. He must really care about his mother… He's a good boy.

"Aren't you Kanji Tatsumi?" a man suddenly asked, catching our attention. I looked over to the entrance and saw a man wearing a gray suit staring at Kanji's direction with fairly wide and suspicious eyes.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked, glancing at me for a brief moment before returning his gaze at Kanji.

"Can't you tell?" Kanji scoffed. "Hey wait, you're a cop. What do you mean, what am I doin'?" The man's left eyebrow twitched a little as his jaw tightened. He's getting a little angry...

"Just what I said" the officer replied bluntly. "There's been quite a commotion around here lately."

"Well _maybe_ if ya did your job, things'd get quieter, huh?" Kanji replied, growling a little. I gasped softly in surprise as I looked at Kanji. He was glaring at the man with his usual tough guy look, seemingly to not care about the consequences of his words. I looked back at the officer, his face rather pale with slight fear.

"Y-You need to fix that attitude..." the officer grumbled. Not wanting Kanji to get in trouble, I decided to speak up.

"Officer, he's just a bit cranky for not eating. Please don't take it out on him..." I said politely, catching the officer's attention. We stared at each other for a moment before the officer sighed.

"...Oh well. Just don't pull anything, got it?" the officer instructed as he looked back at Kanji. I could hear Kanji growl, "I didn't..." The officer must have not heard it or became too exhausted to care as he suddenly sighed once again.

"I'm gonna eat somewhere else" the officer mumbled before walking out of the restaurant. Once the restaurant had returned to its calm self, I turned back around to face Kanji, who looked angry and frustrated.

"Tch, asshole..." Kanji scoffed, resting his head with his left palm that stood from the counter. "The cops're always like that. Soon as they spot me it's, 'Whaddaya doin'?' or 'You look suspicious' and alla that bullshit..." I stared sympathetically at Kanji, feeling rather bad for him. He's a good guy... just a little misunderstood.

"Sounds like you have it rough" I commented. Kanji snorted and shrugged, as if brushing off my comment.

"Meh, I'm used to it..." Kanji replied, a tiny smirk on his lips. He then blinked and look at me, continuing "Oh and hey, thanks for coverin' for me there- not that I really needed it. Although, I didn't mean to get ya mixed up in this, Senpai..." I shook my head telling him that I didn't mind. Kanji smiled a little before looking down at his lap, his left arm lying on the counter.

"I really am just a troublemaker. For you… and for Ma" Kanji muttered, sounding guilty. I blinked in surprise and tilted my head.

"You're mother…?" I asked softly. Kanji sighed and scratched the top of his head, looking away.

"She's always apologizing for me. She's been sprouting more and more white hairs" Kanji admitted. I stared at him for a moment, thinking of what to say.

"Well..." I began, catching his attention. "All you have to do is _change_."

"Y-Yeah, huh?" Kanji agreed, looking a bit embarrassed. He stared at me for a moment before looking away and nodded earnestly.

"Filial piety or something, right?" Kanji asked, sounding a bit nervous. "I don't really know what to do… or so I thought." I blinked in surprise and confusion at his words. Kanji looked at me and grinned widely, looking rather upbeat and embarrassed.

"I'm… I'm gonna use this power I got to makes this town peaceful!" Kanji declared, surprising me. "I've been causing nothing but trouble, but now I can finally return the favor!" I blinked rapidly in surprise at his sudden declaration, before feeling my lips twitch and nodded in reply.

"Right, so let's get to it, Senpai!" Kanji cheered, his grin widening. I nodded, feeling Kanji's enthusiasm. After a small pause, Kanji looked at the Aiya's chef (and owner)- who was busily cooking food.

"...Hey Chief, the food ready yet?" Kanji asked. The chef turned around to face us, his glasses fogged up in steam.

"Huh? You ordered something, Kan-chan?" the chef asked. I blinked in surprise as I felt my lips twitch violently, something tickling my throat.

"'K-Kan-ch-chan'…?" I repeated, the tickle in my throat and my violently twitching lips making it hard to stop. Kanji looked at me and blushed in embarrassment.

"I-It's nothing!" Kanji quickly said before looking back at the chef. "Hey, I told you not to call me Kan-chan! And I _did_ order: liver-leek stir fry and pot stickers as well as a bowl of beef ramen for Senpai!" The tickle in my throat disappeared, as well as my twitching lips finally calming down when I heard the rather angry tone in Kanji's voice.

"Tch! I'm gonna tear your store apart so fast, you won't have _time_ to file for insurance!" Kanji threatened, although the chef didn't seem very affected by it. I looked at Kanji and narrowed my eyes a little.

"Kanji-kun..." I said sternly, catching his attention.

"Oh, uh, well..." Kanji stuttered, realizing his words. He looked back at the chef and continued, "I-I'm gonna tear it apart and rebuild it twice as good! I-I'm gonna RENOVATE your ass!" The chef just stared at us for a moment before nodding.

"...Sounds good to me" he replied bluntly before turning around to start working on our order. Kanji looked a little tired- or rather, baffled- at the lacked reaction the chef had given us. I took this time to pat Kanji's shoulder, catching his attention.

"Good job, Kanji-kun. Now you got yourself a job to do once you're done with school" I joked.

"Wha-Whatever…!" Kanji huffed, looking away as he blushed. I felt something tickle my throat once again, but it quickly disappeared.

Kanji and I waited for our food in silence for a while after that, when Kanji suddenly began, "Hey, so I've been wonderin'..." I looked at Kanji and blinked. "You call Nise-senpai and Yukiko-senpai by their first name with the appropriate honorific. Yukiko-senpai does the same, but Nise-senpai seems to call you by your _last_ name." I nodded slowly, confirming this.

"Then there's you and Yosuke-senpai… you call him by his last name with _no_ honorific, while he calls you by your last name _with_ an honorific" Kanji continued, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yes, and…?" I asked, confused as to where this is going. Kanji scratched his forehead and looked at me with a confused look.

"Well, what I'm trying to get at here is… why?" Kanji asked. "You're all friends right? Why the variety of name calling with 'n without honorifics?" I blinked in surprise at Kanji's question. I looked forward, dazed as I thought about it.

"Well… I'm not sure, to be honest" I admitted, tilting my head slightly. "Nise-kun and Yukiko-chan both gave me permission to call them by their first name like you said- Hanamura as well. Even though I've known Hanamura the longest, we can't seem to call each other by our first names… I guess the feeling's mutual?"

"But he uses an honorific and you don't. And what about Nise-senpai?" Kanji pointed out. I hummed as I looked up at the ceiling. This is really difficult to solve...

"True… you ask a lot of questions, you know that Kanji-kun?" I pointed out, looking over to him. Kanji blinked in surprise before blushing and rubbing his head in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry..." Kanji mumbled.

"It's okay, I was only pointing it out. There's nothing wrong with it" I reassured, patting his back. "Hey, what about you? What do you call me?"

"H-Huh?" Kanji said with a blink of surprise, returning his gaze back at me. I placed both my elbows onto the counter and tied my hands together, resting my chin on them.

"I call you 'Kanji-kun', so what do you call me when I'm not around?" I asked. Kanji blinked twice before looking up at the ceiling like I did.

"Uh… N-Narukami-senpai" Kanji stuttered. I felt my lips twitch slightly.

"Hm? Not 'Hitomi-senpai' like you do with Hanamura, Nise-kun, and Yukiko-chan?" I asked, teasingly. Kanji blushed as he looked at me in slight confusion.

"Uh, I-I don't know… I guess I don't feel w-worthy…?" Kanji admitted. I hummed in reply, causing him to scratch the back of his head and look away.

"Man, this must be how Nise-senpai and Yosuke-senpai must feel..." Kanji grumbled. I stared at him as my lips continued to twitch. Kanji quickly changed the subject when our food arrived. The two of us spent the rest of the afternoon together at Aiya's, happily eating our food before Kanji walked me halfway home and said farewell.

* * *

 _Evening..._

Opening and closing the door upon entering the Dojima residence, I immediately noticed the mixture of familiar voices inside. Dojima must be home… I placed the bag of food down onto the floor and easily slipped off my flats, quickly fixing them once they were off. I walked into the kitchen and saw Dojima and Nanako happily taking out bento's and bowls of soup from a Junes bag. Without even saying anything, Nanako looked up in surprise and smiled when she saw me.

"Welcome home, Big Sis!" Nanako greeted, causing Dojima to look in my direction, also giving me a warm smile.

"So you're home. Welcome back, Hitomi" Dojima greeted warmly. I nodded hello and lifted my bag of meat.

"The owner of Souzai Daigaku gave me some food. Should I just store it for tomorrow?" I asked. Dojima blinked in surprise at bag most likely wondering how I ended up getting it.

"Well… Sure, sounds fine" Dojima replied with a smile. I nodded and turned around, opening the refrigerator and carefully stuffed the plastic bag inside. If I wake up early tomorrow, I'll be able to make everyone's lunch. Closing the refrigerator, I started making some tea before walking over to the living room table to join the Dojimas.

Once I sat down at my usual spot, the three of us thanked the food and began to eat as Nanko turned on the television. There were two whole commercial's before returning to the entertainment news show. Nanako seemed rather invested into the show, a bit more than she usually is with the Junes commercial. I was a bit preoccupied with the conversation Kanji and I had at Aiya's.

Why _does_ Nise not call me by my first name like I do? He said it once during the campout, and I felt really happy when he called me that. Then there's also Hanamura and me… why _aren't_ we on a first name basis? Hanamura was my _first_ friend. I trust him and support him a little bit more than I do with the others because of that… so why? Why do I still call him Hanamura? He gave me permission to call him by his first name, so why…? Why didn't I decide to call him that? Why remove the "san" and keep calling him Hanamura…? It can't be because I'm _scared_ , can it? Sure, I become easily stressed out when it comes to my friends, but to be so stressed as to avoid calling one of them by their first name…? Just what is it that's holding me back…?

 **" _That concludes Ryo Kujikawa's statement regarding her temporary leave of absence from the entertainment industry,"_** an agency spokesman on television said, catching my attention. **_"We're short on time, so if anyone has any remaining questions, we ask that you please keep them brief."_**

 ** _I'm Ishioka from Lady's View_ " a female reporter began, standing up." _It says here that you'll be recuperating—are you facing physical problems?"_** I blinked in surprise as I noticed a familiar handsome boy's face shake his head.

 ** _"No, my health isn't an issue—"_ ** the boy- Ryo Kujikawa- replied, sounding a bit exhausted. I blinked in surprise at his tone, now focusing on the show. His smooth, silky voice sounds familiar… where have I heard it before? And this "Ryo Kujikawa" person looks awfully familiar too. Where…?

 **" _Psychological problems, then?"_** the female magazine reporter asked. Kujikawa's eyes widened in surprise.

 ** _"What…? Uh, no- it's nothing like that"_** Kujikawa replied, shocked at first.

 **" _Do you know when you'll return to work?_ " **another magazine reporter asked, standing up. The female reporter sat down in respect.

 **" _No, not yet..._ " **Kujikawa replied, sounding uncertain. The reporter nodded and sat down, causing a male reporter to stand up.

 **" _Doesn't your grandmother run a Tofu shop in Inaba where you plan on staying? Will you be helping out with the business?_ " **the reporter asked. Kujikawa nodded, a tiny smile forming at the mention of his grandmother.

 **" _She does, and yes- I will_ " **Kujikawa replied.

 **" _But isn't that where the unsolved murders have been taking place?!"_** a sudden male magazine reporter asked, standing up. He seemed rather enthusiastic, causing Kujikawa to blink in surprise.

 **" _Huh? Um…"_ ** Kujikawa muttered, starting to look uncomfortable. At the mention of the "unsolved murders", the once calm press conference had erupted into chaos. Kujikawa seemed rather overwhelmed. Fortunately for him, the agency spokesman took matters into his own hand.

 ** _"No more questions! This press conference is over! Clear the way, please!"_** the spokesman demanded, causing Ryo to stand up and quickly leave the stage with two men in suits. I noticed that as Kujikawa was leaving, he took out a black beanie and a pair of black glasses. I gasped in surprise as I blinked, finally recognizing the boy. He's the one I chased today to return the phone he dropped. So he's someone famous…? Well, it's not all that surprising since he is rather handsome.

"Hey, do you think we'll run into Ryo-kun in town?" Nanako asked as she looked over at me.

"I did" I replied, glancing back at the television. We most definitely met, but not in a way that everyone wants. Nanako exclaimed as she leaned over to me.

"You saw him, Big Sis? You saw Ryouta?!" Nanako asked excitedly. I nodded in reply.

"That's so cool! Is he as handsome as he is on T.V?" Nanako asked. I blinked in surprise and looked up at the ceiling.

"I suppose so…? He is rather handsome" I replied, looking back down at Nanako. Nanako giggled happily as if satisfied before taking a of rice.

"But then… does this mean that Ryo-kun really is quitting his job on TV?" Nanako asked suddenly after she swallowed her food. I simply blinked as I took a bite of the hamburger meat with my rice.

"Who knows…" Dojima replied. "But if this is her hometown, we'll have to deal with everyone who's trying to get a glimpse…" I looked at Dojima in sympathy, feeling rather bad for him. This can only mean more work… At that moment, a very familiar commercial popped up on television. It was Kujikawa wearing swimming trunks, and took a big gulp from a blue soda.

 ** _"Why go on a diet? Enough with heading to the gym! Good thing there's something even I can handle!"_ ** Kujikawa laughed, looking as if he was having fun.

 **" _Quelorie Magic is made for those worried about their calorie intake and body fat. It'll slim you down in no time!"_** a calm and collected voice cooed as Kujikawa winked, a star swirling forward and shaping into the beverage product. I'm still not a fan of soda… Tea is much more my style.

"Ryo Kujikawa, huh…?" Dojima mused with a sigh. "The best part about this town used to be how quiet it was… It seems that this year has been anything _but_ that." Dojima sighed once again and took a bit bite of rice. The three of us continued our dinner as we watched television. Of course, Dojima and I had our minds somewhere else- his with the incoming workload he most likely had to deal with soon while I worried about the next kidnap victim… Since Ryo Kujikawa is living here in Inaba and showed up on television… he's most likely the next one on the killer's list.

* * *

 _Monday, June 20th_ | _Early morning..._

I listened to Hanamura, Nise and Yukiko talk while I took out my school supplies. We still had a some time before classes began and with the camping trip finally out of the way, they were finally able to focus on other matters. I on the other hand was still worried about Kujikawa. There is a 90% chance that he'll be the next target… I need to think of a plan- of anything really. But… with the others so close to me and talking so carefree like this, I can barely keep a single thought going...

As the three of them were talking, I noticed that the room had suddenly gone quiet, except for them. The trio were rather oblivious to this since the topic was rather heated in their own silly way. I looked over to the back door of the classroom and noticed that Kanji had entered the room.

"Yo," Kanji greeted, catching the other's attention.

"Oh hey! Morning" Nise greeted with a welcoming smile. I turned in my seat so that I was facing the others and nodded hello to him.

"You've been coming to school pretty often lately. What's up?" Hanamura asked.

"It's this annoying thing called the mandatory attendance policy" Kanji scoffed, closing his eyes. I noticed that his cheeks were covered with a very light pink, causing a warm feeling to wash over me. He must also be coming to school because of us being his friends and how we accepted him.

"So hey, you guys see the news?" Kanji asked, opening his eyes that were filled with seriousness.

"News…?" Nise asked as he blinked. "Oh, that stuff about Ryo Kujikawa taking a break from showbiz?" Nise tied his hands behind his head and raised an eyebrow continuing, "Yeah, you know I've been I wonderin' why. He was just getting popular lately…"

"Just goes to prove that being a pop idol is tough work" Hanamura commented, crossing his arms over his chest. I stared at the four of them for a moment before deciding to finally ask.

"Is... Kujikawa-san really that popular?" I asked, catching their attention.

"Huh…? You don't know him?" Hanamura asked. I nodded in reply. Hanamura suddenly grabbed my left shoulder and gave me a thumbs up with a serious expression.

"Good- don't look him up or else he'll capture you" Hanamura said sternly, causing me to flinch.

"What are you saying, man?" Nise and Kanji asked with a bored look. Hanamura let go of my shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What I'm saying is he uses his looks and swimsuit ads to get new fans. The guy's just showing off" Hanamura explained with a huff. "Don't you think so too, Nise?" Nise blinked in reply, a drop of sweat rolling down his jaw.

"Huh…?" Nise managed to say, his arms flopping down to his sides. "I don't know, he seems pretty chill and has a nice voice. I really like his remix of the song 'Deep Breath, Deep Breath'." Hanamura uncrossed his arms and took a step forward to Nise.

"Wha- dude! 'True Story' is _way_ better!" Hanamura began before quickly adding, "And what the hell, you were supposed to back me up here!" Nise leaned back a little, looking a little angry.

"And what?! Say, 'Yeah Yosuke, I agree with you- you could totally beat him in for a job for a commercial by wearing a swimsuit'?!" Nise asked. Hanamura took a step back, looking a bit nervous as sweat of his own began to roll down his jawline.

"Well no…" Hanamura began sounding a bit baffled by Nise's story, before continuing "but you could have agreed that he's just showing off…!" Nise huffed and stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.

"I'd rather agree with someone else who says that you're just jealous" Nise replied bluntly, causing Yukiko to giggle. Hanamura blushed a little and sputtered.

"I-I'm not jealous! I got plenty of looks!" Hanamura declared. Nise suddenly smirked, looking rather victorious.

"Don't tell me you're a fan too, Yosuke?" Nise asked in a sly tone. Hanamura blushed some more as he made some strange sounds.

"N-No, of course not! I was just bashing on him, remember?" Hanamura replied. Kanji smirked a little as he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"But weren't you the one who said 'wha- dude! 'True Story' is way better'?" Kanji asked in a similar tone to Nise. Hanamura's face grew red at this point as he struggled to find the proper words. Nise bursted out laughing and wrapped an arm around Hanamura's shoulders.

"No use to try and hide it from us, man! Just admit that you're a fan of his too, it's cool. No one will blame ya" Nise reassured as he removed himself from Hanamura and patted his shoulder. Hanamura closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in embarrassment. I could feel something tickle my throat as I watched the rather amusing scene.

"Hitomi-chan," Yukiko began, catching our attention. "It hasn't been that long since his debut, and appears to be a top-class pop idol in no time at this rate. To be honest, I don't really keep up with the latest music trends, but I'm a fan of his." I blinked in surprise at this information, rather surprised that Yukiko would be a fan.

"Oh yeah, I think he used to live here... That's why he has a lot of local fans," Nise mused, seeming to remember something.

"I think… I might know Ryo-kun's family" Yukiko suddenly pointed out, causing the others to gasp.

"You serious Yukiko?! You _know_ Ryo's family?!" Hanamura asked in surprise, looking rather excited. He really _is_ a fan of Kujikawa. It was kind of cute how he tried to deny it earlier.

"The news said he's going to live in his grandmother's traditional tofu shop, right?" Yukiko asked. I nodded in confirmation.

"The only one here is Marukyu. We have their tofu at the inn" Yukiko explained.

"Oh, that place in the shopping district!" Hanamura exclaimed. "I pass by it all the time."

"So if we go over there to buy tofu, I can see Ryouta?!" Hanamura asked excitedly, a unique sparkle in his eyes. Nise pressed his lips together to suppress laughing as Kanji's face hardened into a serious expression.

"Settle down there, Senpai. This isn't the time to run around for silly games. There's a possibility that the guy might get kidnapped next" Kanji remarked, causing Hanamura to blush and cross his arms over his chest- regaining his composure. Suddenly, the warning bell went off, causing Kanji to gasp loudly.

"Shit, I'm late!" Kanji exclaimed. I stood up and blinked rapidly in surprise.

"Kanji-kun, will you be free after school today so that we can continue talking about this?" I asked as he ran towards the back door. Kanji ran in place as he turned around to face us.

"Nah, let's talk about this tomorrow after school- I'm helping my Ma at the shop. Anyways, see ya!" Kanji replied quickly before dashing off to his class. I turned to face the others and we nodded, agreeing to talk about the cases after school tomorrow like Kanji suggested. The official bell soon rang after that and the four of us sat down in our seats just in time before our mathematics teacher- Nakayama- entered the classroom.

The lesson had gone by rather smoothly. Hanamura was able to stay awake since it was rather early in the morning and none of the others had asked me any questions. I did learn a bit about my teacher though… She's a rather quirky teacher and is _obsessed_ with money. I also found her to be a rather impressive teacher because even though her lips are rather fat, I could understand her well. I sighed as I finished jotting down a few more notes in my notebook.

"…All right, that's the end of the proof and the end of the chapter, too," Nakayama announced. I put down my pencil and looked up.

"So, I've heard all the gossip going around about Ryo Kujikawa" she began, chancing the subject. "Those pop idols don't have 'normal people' problems. They'll have money, they'll never have to compromise in marriage…" I blinked nervously as Nakayama grumbled. This was yet another thing about Nakayama that she liked to talk about…her marriage. Although, to be frank; I think Nakayama is becoming the reason why some of the students won't be considering marriage anytime soon in their lives. Nakayama sighed.

"What should I make for dinner tonight?" she asked randomly. I heard some students yawn and sigh at her question- showing no interest.

"But you know, June is bonus month!" Nakayama smiled, suddenly becoming excited. "That's why I'm a little bit happier right now. They say that Japan first implemented the bonus during the Meiji era. What a wonderful culture…" Nakayama sighed dreamily, causing a few people to yawn. Noticing the yawning, she glared at the class.

"Hey, are you listening to me?! I'm talking about a wonderful culture! Especially you, Narukami-chan! You're looking bored!" I blinked in surprise at the sudden call of my name and stood up.

"I'm not bored, Sensei" I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.

"I'll be the judge of that" Nakayama huffed. "Tell me, what period did Japan first implement bonus pay?"

"Meiji" I replied quickly. Nakayama nodded with a surprise look on her face.

"Oh, so you were listening…?" Nakayama asked. I nodded in reply and sat back down in my seat. "Well anyways, that's correct. Japan began issuing bonuses during the Meiji period. It's a wonderful culture. It's the joy in labor…" Some yawns erupted in the class yet again.

"So you're all ignoring me thinking I'm just chit-chatting, eh? Well, now this is gonna be on the test!" Nakayama snapped, not appreciating the treat the students have been giving her. I quickly took a note of this, not wanting to forget.

* * *

 _Tuesday, June 21th_ | _Early morning..._

I walked careful down the slippery road towards school, rain viciously attacking my transparent umbrella. According to the weather report, it's supposed to rain all day… Where are we all going to meet after school? We could just all stay inside, but someone is most likely going to get hungry. I suppose we can all go to the Junes food court and eat at the table with the protective cloth over it.

"Yo, Senpai! Sorry but make some room!" I heard a familiar voice call out. I blinked and looked over my shoulder to see Kanji running up to me- without an umbrella. I raised my umbrella as high as I could to make it a bit easier for Kanji as he ducked next to me. Kanji shook his head like a dog, causing the rain on him to shake off.

"Man, talk about a wake up call" Kanji sighed. I stood on my tiptoes and walked beside him with my arm fully stretched up. I was thankfully able to reach the same height as Kanji, but my body was starting to wear out- _fast_.

"Seems… like it. So… what's up?" I asked slowly to make sure that he didn't notice my draining energy.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you that the shopping district is pretty busy today and loaded with cops when I was passin' by… We won't be able to stop by and check on Ryo because of 'em" Kanji explained without looking at me. I pressed my lips together, steadying my shaking arm.

"I see… That's okay, we… still need to continue talking to the… others about our… conversation yesterday..." I replied, becoming out of breath.

"Yeah" Kanji replied with a firm nod. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and stood in one place- struggling to keep it at Kanji's height. Kanji stopped walking right as I did and looked at me.

"...What are you doing?" Kanji asked before noticing my shaking body.

"I'm… trying… to… keep… it… at… your… height…!" I replied slowly, my feet slowly starting to descend. I closed my eyes tightly and started taking shaking steps, focusing all my energy in covering Kanji and I with my umbrella. Suddenly, someone grabbed my hand and took the umbrella. My body instinctively relaxed and returned to normal as I opened my eyes to see who took it. Surprisingly, it was Kanji, who seemed rather embarrassed. He wasn't looking at me as he held onto my umbrella, his lips puckered out slightly.

"You should have just given it to me, Senpai. I wouldn't have mind holdin' it" Kanji explained, sounding a little flustered. I felt my heart skip a beat as I nodded, looking forward.

"Sorry about that… I'll let you hold the umbrella from now on" I said firmly. Kanji grunted in reply as we made our way to the school.

* * *

 _After school..._

Once school was over, the five of us all decided to go to Junes to continue talking about the cases. Kanji and Nise were hungry, and everyone was sure that we'd get a bit more privacy that way since no one would be outside due to the rain. All the guys sat on the left side of the long wooden table, while Yukiko and I sat next to each other on the right side with Hanamura facing me and Nise facing Yukiko. Since Kanji and Nise grabbed something to eat, I quickly decided to grab a nice can of raspberry tea.

"Alright..." I began, as Kanji and Nise began to eat their steaks. "Continuing from yesterday's discussion, Ryo Kujikawa is now living here in town. There's a possibility that he might be the next victim, and nearly everyone here are big fans of his- although Hanamura won't openly admit it." Hanamura coughed into his right fist, blushing.

"Th-That's not important" Hanamura replied.

"What _does_ matter is the fact that Ryo-kun might be in danger" Yukiko added.

"What do we know so far, Yosuke?" Nise asked as he swallowed the food in his mouth. Hanamura blinked in confusion and raised an eyebrow.

"That Ryo is awesome?" Hanamura guessed. Nise- who was about to take another bite of his steak- stopped and eyed Hanamura in disbelief.

"Wha- no!" Nise snapped, slamming his fork to the plate. "Although I do agree with you, I'm talking about the _murders_! Did you forget?!" When Hanamura showed no sign of understanding where Nise was getting at, he sighed and continued, "You and Narukami-chan were the ones who said the connection between the victims was the TV!" Hanamura's expression dimmed, looking almost a bit bored.

"Yeah but… C'mon, it's not like Ryo started showing up on TV just recently. Why would _now_ be any different?" Hanamura asked. Nise flinched as he began to sweat, not knowing the answer.

"I wondered the same thing, so I did some research," Yukiko replied, grabbing our attention. "It seems like Ryo-kun and Miss Yamano have crossed paths before. But that was only because they were both guests on the same talk show." I hummed in thought as I took a sip of my tea. No personal connections connect Kujikawa and Yamano this time, huh…?

"But with all this talk about his sudden hiatus, he's the talk of the town right now," Nise pointed out. "And since he's moved here, it'll just get worse." Hanamura blinked in surprise, understanding the situation now.

"Damn, good point..." Hanamura mused. "So, if our assumptions are correct, he fits the criteria perfectly… That narrows the killer's methods down even further."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kanji asked after swallowing his food, looking confused. Hanamura sighed in slight exasperation.

"Kanji, listen real carefully… If Ryo _is_ next, then that lets us rule out our theory that the targets have to be connected with the first case. And that means the killer's targets are people here who've been shown on the news lately. Get it now?"

"Ohhh…Yeah, I get it..." Kanji replied, sounding a bit uncertain. Nise looked at him with a bored look.

"Are you _sure_ that you get it?" Nise asked before taking a bite of his food. Kanji avoided the question by eating his food once again.

"But we still don't know what the killer's motive is… on that, we're totally clueless" Hanamura sighed as he rested his chin in the palm of his right hand.

"'ell-" Kanji began, shortly swallowing his food when he noticed some bits flying out, "Maybe he has a grudge against us. I mean, I know for a _fact_ that a shotload of people hate my guts..." Kanji looked over to Yukiko, causing her to blink.

"So then how about you, Yukiko-senpai?" Kanji asked. "Is there anyone you might have pissed-"

"Never" Yukiko replied bluntly, interrupting Kanji. We stared at her, baffled by how quick she was to deny it.

"Come on, Yukiko…" Nise chuckle nervously, "Everyone's pissed somebody off at some point… Even if they didn't mean to do it!"

"Not me" Yukiko replied bluntly, ceasing Nise's nervous laughter.

"W-Well then, she's the exception..." Nise said as he looked over at Hanamura and me.

"So, uh, with the exception of Yukiko- I wonder what we all could have done to make this guy so angry! The guy has some issues" Nise commented. I stared at the guys as I took a sip of my tea, thinking. The killer's motives… it's definitely something I still need to think about.

"Well, I guess we just have to catch him and ask him anything we want!" Hanamura suggested, his lips curling up into a grin. We all nodded as I set my can of tea down.

"For now though, let's watch the midnight channel and keep an eye on Kujikawa" I instructed. The other nodded in agreement, concluding our little meeting. As soon as Nise and Kanji finished their food, the five of us all went home.

* * *

 _Evening..._

It was around 11:59 in the evening. I had spent a majority of my evening studying and working on homework like usual after dinner. But with nothing too important coming, it went by rather quickly- giving me the option of reading "Witch Detective". I was enjoying it a lot and wanted to keep reading, but with midnight soon approaching- I had to stop. Closing my book with a sigh, I returned it to the shelf before walking towards the television. I waited patiently for the clock to strike twelve, my eyes glued to the blank screen.

Within seconds, a strange and familiar yellow glow dimly filled my room, causing me to look at the television. The screen was yellow and filled with static, just like all the other times. It appeared as though a boy wearing what appeared to be a transparent long dress shirt and something that looked like black speedo appeared on screen, his left hand on his hip while his right leg was bent a little. Although, I found it rather difficult to identify the person being shown since the camera kept zooming in and out of the man's chest and thighs… It was rather difficult for me to watch and by the time the image was gone, my face was beat red. Soon, the screen faded as the clock ticked to 12:01. I let out a sigh as I fanned myself, trying to cool down. Suddenly, my iPhone began to rang. Still fanning myself, I walked over to my dresser where my iPhone was being charged. I unhooked the charger and answered the call- it was Hanamura.

" _Hello?! Hey, did you see that?! "_ Hanamura asked, not even waiting for me to greet him. I blinked in surprise as I noticed the rather excited tone in his voice.

 _" That was Ryo for sure! Ryo Kujikawa!"_ Hanamura nearly shouted. I blinked a few times as I nodded.

"I think you're right," I agreed.

"Thought so! _"_ Hanamura laughed- before suddenly cutting himself off. _" Oh…I guess I shouldn't be so excited. There's a chance he might get kidnapped…"_

"Right. We should talk to the others about this after school tomorrow" I suggested.

" _Yeah, sounds like a plan. Sleep tight then, Narukami-chan_ " Hanamura replied before hanging up. I reattached my iPhone with the charger and noticed the date that appeared before the screen turned black. That's right, I almost forgot that tomorrow was the 22nd... I quickly walked over to the futon and hastily tucked myself in the blanket. I had a busy morning ahead of me.

* * *

 _Wednesday, June 22nd_ | _After school..._

The school day went by normally for me today. Nothing much really happened, besides from the surprise muscle milk in my shoe locker from the three girls I had helped out a while back. There was also a poem of gratitude from the boy who I helped express his emotions to an upperclassmen. Hanamura and Kanji, who bumped into me on my way to the school, commented on my popularity based on the gifts. Other than that though, everything has been rather normal.

Once school was over, I texted Kanji to meet us in our classroom to discuss who we saw and if it was _truly_ who we think we saw. He came almost instantly after I had sent it- showing signs of running. I was sitting at my desk while Nise and Hanamura were both sitting on top of their respective desks. Kanji and Yukiko were both standing in the space between the two rows of desks. They were all listening in on a couple of our classmates who were gossiping about Kujikawa. I would have been listening as well, if it weren't for my nervousness about the white box I had in my bag. Should I give it now, or later…?

"I've been hearing that there's a big crowd at Marukyu," Yukiko suddenly said, catching my attention.

"It's not as bad as yesterday. The place was swarmin' with cops and fans" Kanji explained, sounding annoyed.

"I'm not surprised," Nise remarked. "But was it really him on the Midnight Channel? Something seemed… I dunno- _different_ about him." Hanamura smiled as he clenched his left hand into a fist, thrusting it into the air.

"It was him- no doubt about it!" Hanamura exclaimed. "His muscles, postures, and even those strong legs that go on forever. He's the only guy I know that exists right now with that perfect balance!" Hanamura smiled happily, sounding rather excited- or proud- when he listed off Kujikawa's features…and then he began to stare at Nise's legs that were protected by his tight pants. He sighed in disappointment, causing Nise to push his right foot against Hanamura's chest, threatening to kick him off his desk.

"You got something you want to say? If you don't like my legs- then don't look at them, idiot!" Nise growled. Yukiko turned to me and smiled, seeming unaffected by the two.

"Hitomi-chan, what do you think about all this?" she asked. I blinked in surprise and looked at Nise's legs.

"I think they're fine. He has been training after all" I replied, causing Nise to blush with a gasp.

"What?" Hanamura exclaimed as he made a face. "Bruh, on this- we disagree. He has no muscles on them." Nise growled as a small vein popped out on the corner of Nise's forehead. He then kicked Hanamura in the chest rather hard, shouting, "Jiraiya!" The force was enough to knock Hanamura off his desk and fall to the ground next to Kanji.

"Silly Nise, Jiraiya's Yosuke's persona!" Yukiko giggled. "Yours is Tomoe! Nise's is Tomoe!" Yukiko started to trail off on her own and she started playing around with words she was saying. I shifted my attention from her to Kanji, whom I heard sigh.

"Are you guys even taking this seriously?" he asked, looking a bit tired.

"We are" Nise and I replied at the same time. Kanji nodded in approval and looked out the window.

"Then that tofu shop- let's swing by" Kanji suggested. "It's not like we got anything better to do. Besides, asking the dude upfront is better than waitin' around for the killer." I nodded in agreement to the idea and reached for my bag, carefully taking it out from beneath my desk.

"Sounds good" Nise began as he hopped off his desk. "But Yukiko and I have to swing by the faculty office- so you guys go on ahead. We'll catch up later." Nise looked at Hanamura who stood up after lying on the ground for a moment and looked at Kanji with a stern expression.

"Yosuke, give us a call if anything happens- got it? And try not to goof off too much, 'kay?" Nise instructed. Hanamura laughed sarcastically in surprise, giving a weak thumbs up. Nise then grabbed the giggling Yukiko, and the two left.

Once they had left the classroom, I looked over to Hanamura who was rubbing his chest where Nise had kicked him. I suppose… I can give it to him now.

"Hanamura..." I began as I opened my bag and took out a small white box. "I got something for you."

"Hm? Wh-What is it?" Hanamura asked, sounding a bit out of breath. Shyly, I held out the white box to him and lifted the top off to reveal a rather small, two layer round cake inside. The cake was decorated with six glazed strawberries- evenly spaced on the top and around the cake while a tiny crystallized sugar headphone and music note sat on the upper left corner of the cake where the words "Happy B-Day" was written in golden frosting.

"Happy birthday" I muttered, feeling myself getting embarrassed. Kanji stared at the cake in disbelief and awe, his cheeks dusted with pink while Hanamura stared at me in surprise.

"Ah…" was all that Hanamura could manage before blinking in surprise. "H-How did you know…?"

"I saw it on your motorcycle license when you showed it to me" I explained before setting the box down on Hanamura's desk.

"It's your birthday, Senpai?" Kanji asked as he finally looked away from the cake. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen as of today…" Hanamura replied simply, turning his attention to the cake. "You made this for me, Narukami-chan…?" I nodded in reply as the two boys stared at the cake in awe.

"I made it this morning. I've been trying to think of the perfect moment to give this to you, but I couldn't really find a good opportunity..." I explained, a bit shyly as I rubbed the back of my neck. It wasn't the best cake in the world, so perhaps I was nervous at how the two kept on staring at it. It wasn't as big as a normal birthday cake, but not so small it could have been considered a cupcake. It was somewhere in between. I was nervous about the size not coming close to Hanamura's liking, so I made it two layers tall with a rather thick layer of whipped cream.

"Well, anyways… It's a strawberry shortcake. I hope you like it" I muttered. Kanji looked up from the cake with sparkling eyes, his cheeks a crimson red.

"This cake looks so cute, Senpai! You're so cool!" Kanji complimented, seeming impressed. "Hey, my birthday's on the 19th of January- can you make me one of these then?" I blinked in surprise as I felt my lips twitch and nodded.

"Ah…" Hanamura began as he looked at me. I noticed that his eyes were rather… glossed with tears? "No one's ever made me a cake before..." I blinked in surprise at this, my heart starting to pound for some reason. I turned around and picked up my bag.

"W-Well... you're my friend. So, I just..." I muttered, my words slowly trailing off. I could feel something in me trying to break free, trying to express itself. But it just… couldn't. I felt my face heat up as I sighed and shook my head.

"Nevermind, I don't even know what I'm saying. C'mon, let's go- we have an idol to check on" I said as I started to walk out of the classroom. Hanamura gasped at the mention of 'idol' and the guys quickly followed after me.

* * *

The light gray clouds from this mornings shower floated above us as Hanamura, Kanji and myself all walked down the Samegawa Flood Plain. It was the only way to get to the shopping district unfortunately, causing Kanji and myself to fan ourselves with our hands as Hanamura took the lead with big steps. Despite the recent raining, the weather has been rather humid- causing the air to smell like a wet summer's day. I didn't mind the smell of such things, I actually rather liked them, but that didn't subside the fact that it was humid and sticky outside.

As we walked, I noticed an elderly woman standing by the down-sliding hill- looking troubled. I stopped following Hanamura and quickly made my way to the old woman, worried about her health.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" I called out to the old woman as I approached her, catching her attention.

"Oh yes, yes; I'm fine" the old woman reassured, swatting her right hand in a dismissive manner. "It's just been very humid despite the recent rain. It's absolutely horrid when you're older!"

"Then what are you doin' wandering around, grandma? Shouldn't push yourself" I heard Kanji ask, causing me to look over my shoulder. Hanamura and Kanji were walking towards us, possibly noticing that I had stopped walking with them when I called out to the old woman.

"Hmph, you sound just like my daughter's family- so nosy" she replied with a huff, as if annoyed. "They keep chattering on about how I shouldn't be pushing myself! They look at me with their apologetic faces and say things like, 'isn't it inconvenient for you at your age?' I know that I don't have too many years left, but I don't want everybody's pity!" I blinked in surprise by the elderly woman's stern tone. She sounded so angry and frustrated, I was caught rather off guard.

"W-Well, it's because they care about you that they want you to take it easy; spend the rest of your golden years in peace or something like that" Hanamura chuckled nervously.

"Geez, such silly things to worry about!" the old woman huffed. Despite the woman's bantering, I do understand where she's coming from. No one wants to be treated differently from a normal person.

"I can understand that" I commented, causing her to smile.

"Such a good girl you are- no wonder you have two young men following you" the old woman laughed, her voice sounding much gentler than before. I couldn't help but silently sigh wryly at her words.

"By the way, I have a small favor to ask you, if that's alright" the old woman suddenly said, causing me to blink in surprise.

"What is it?" I asked. I suddenly felt a hand on my left shoulder, causing me to look at the owner.

"Narukami-chan, we can't waste time here…!" Hanamura whispered, glancing over to the old woman.

"Senpai, we're on a mission" Kanji added as he bent down a little to my height, also whispering. I sighed and swatted the two away from me.

"Then you guys can go on without me- I'm sure her request won't take long" I reassured. The old woman smiled in confusion and gratitude, oblivious it seems to our conversation. I could hear them both shuffle a little and grumble in slight frustration. But neither of them took my suggestion and stayed where they were.

"You're too kind to an old stranger..." the old woman chuckled. "Anyways, do you come across many keys?"

"Keys?" I repeated, blinking in confusion.

"To be honest… I'd like you to search for one. An old key at that" she continued, smiling sadly.

"Huh? Why do you-" Hanamura began to ask.

"Please, don't ask why I need it" the old woman interrupted, causing Hanamura to silently stare in shock. "...There's just something I need to open. As thanks… Oh yes, how about something you could never buy with money?"

"I'll look for it, ma'am" I replied with a confident nod.

"R-Really?" the woman exclaimed with wide eyes, shocked. "...Well. I know you're not gonna just stumble on a key all of a sudden, but… I'm sorry, it bothers me. I can't help it."

"Just leave it to me, ma'am" I reassured. The old woman stared at me in either shock or amazement, before smiling warmly.

"Thank you, dear" she muttered, tears prickling her eyes. I nodded and began to walk down the Samegawa Flood Plain once again, to continue our original objective.

Once we were pretty far from the old woman, Hanamura suddenly asked "Narukami-chan, are you sure about this?"

"How are you going to even find an 'old key'? That's like looking for a needle in a gray sweater" Kanji pointed out, sounding a bit confused and concerned. I nodded firmly, ensuring them that I was serious about finding this old key.

"I want to help as many people as I can here" I explained without looking over at them. "I'll work really hard to find that key… I told that woman I would." The rest of the way before exiting the area was rather quiet, making me think that I had shocked the guys from my reasoning.

* * *

After about roughly thirty more minutes of walking, we finally reached the shopping district- entering the northern side. Hanamura was taking the lead, slightly faster than Kanji and myself as he took big steps- excited once again to meet Kujikawa.

"Just so you know, this is all for the investigation" Hanamura suddenly announced. "We can't get hung up on meeting Ryouta or just saying 'hi', okay?" I sighed softly through my nose as I stared an Hanamura's back, imagining him looking pompous as he tried to hide the pink dusted on his cheeks.

"Uh, who are you trying to convince- me or yourself?" Kanji asked, sounding slightly exhausted from Hanamura's behavior.

As we arrived at the northern shopping district, the first thing we all noticed was the number of people gathering around the tofu shop. Not wanting to have to deal with any of them, we went back and stopped in front of Kanji's shop and waited for the crowd to disappear. I noticed that a lot of people were taking picture, a majority of them from our school with a sprinkle of other students from another school and a few adults.

"Man, there's a bunch of freaky fans hanging around" Hanamura commented as he crossed his arms.

"The same could be said of us" Kanji remarked. I looked over to Hanamura and tilted my head slightly.

"What is it about Kujikawa-san that you like, Hanamura?" I asked. Hanamura looked at me in surprise from my sudden question and blushed.

"H-hey, c'mon- don't say it like that! It makes me sound as if I have a man crush on him or somethin'!" Hanamura stuttered. He looked at Kanji and quickly added, "Which I don't by the way!" Kanji snorted as if amused, causing Hanamura to sigh.

"Anyways, I'm in the same boat as Nise and Yukiko. I really like his voice and his acting skills" Hanamura explained, smiling a little. "He was once casted for a supporting role in an action film and he totally nailed it! That's why he got that lead role for another one recently." I blinked at the information Hanamura given me.

"The lead role for a movie? Good for him" I commented. Hanamura nodded before sighing, looking disappointed.

"Yeah, but with him on the hiatus- he could kiss that role goodbye. So many people have been looking forward to it- there's no way they're going to wait around for him" Hanamura explained while whining. I looked down at the ground and stared at it. If he got the lead role in a movie, then why now of all times did Kujikawa decide to go on a hiatus? I looked up over to Kanji, our eyes locking nearly instantly since he was staring at me.

"What about you Kanji-kun? Do you like Kujikawa-san as well?" I asked. Kanji shrugged.

"Eh, I don't really care about celebrities" he replied simply.

"I suppose that makes two of us" I pointed out, causing Kanji to blush a little more and grin.

"You guys are so lame..." Hanamura sighed, disappointed. Kanji's grin went away and was replaced with an annoyed frown as he glared at Hanamura. I looked over at the tofu shop and blinked in surprise, noticing the absence of the crowd that was just there. I looked at Hanamura and Kanji, nodded, and walked towards the shop. After taking only two steps, Hanamura was running towards the shop with joy. For a moment there, I thought I saw yellow flowers dancing around him as he ran. Kanji and I followed him with a lot less enthusiasm when he suddenly exclaimed- causing us to run.

"What the hell?! I came all this way to catch a glimpse of my role model, Ryouta! There's no chance that I'm running away now!" Hanamura growled when we finally reached him. He suddenly opened the door with force, before shyly stepping in.

"Um… excuse me?" Hanamura whimpered out, causing Kanji to sigh in exasperation. I walked inside the shop, noticing that it was empty… and gloomy. Kanji walked inside as well and closed the door behind him. The place looked rather old and traditional as its name suggested, a historic air filling the room.

The shop had very few posters on the right wall, most of which advertising the items on sale. In front of us was a classic glass display shelf that acted as a counter for the cash register- which oddly enough didn't have anything on display. Behind the counter was obviously a kitchen where all the tofu was being made- a blue curtain acting as a doorway with the katakana character for "Su" on it. To the right of it is a tall glass shelf filled with necessities such as tofu containers. To the right of the display shelf is a store container that seems to hold ganmodoki and other types of food that were connected to tofu but not _actually_ tofu. In general, it's a rather nice place. Since I'm here, maybe I should buy something...?

Suddenly, the blue curtain shuffled- revealing a handsome boy wearing a white long-sleeved apron over his casual clothes and had a white handkerchief wrapped around his fluffy copper hair. The boy's head was down as he let out a sigh.

"Look, didn't you read the sign out? We're out- the tofu's gone" the boy sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"No way…!" Hanamura gasped softly before looking at me. "It's really him! It's really Ryouta, bruh!" I nodded, confirming it for him. Of course, I wasn't really the one who should have confirmed it for him since I didn't even know that he was a popular idol.

"Yo, you Ryo?" Kanji asked bluntly as he took a step forward towards Kujikawa.

"Straight out about it, huh?" Kujikawa sighed with annoyance. "Yeah, and what of it?" I blinked in surprise at Kujikawa's cold behavior, recalling his angry voice when he yelled at me. I'm sure Kujikawa is a nice boy, but he can be a little scary when he wants.

"Oh hey, you're that girl..." Kujikawa suddenly pointed out, catching my attention. I nodded hello and took a step forward.

"So we meet again- and on more civil terms this time" I joked, causing Kujikawa to huff out a laugh in exhaustion.

"What the hell?! You mean you guys already know each other?!" Hanamura exclaimed, shaking me. "Not fair…!"

"I'm sorry...?" I replied as I wobbled a little from side to side due to Hanamura's shaking.

"Anyways… what do you want? Tofu?" Kujikawa asked with a sigh. Hanamura faced him and smiled widely.

"Yeah, definitely!" Hanamura answered quickly. Kujikawa crossed his arms over his chest and turned around to leave.

"Too bad, we're out- just like you three in a minute" Kujikawa said with an annoyed tone and began to walk towards the curtain. Hanamura and Kanji froze at Kujikawa's attitude, leaving me to quickly come up with something to make him stay.

"Six ganmodoki, please" I requested- causing Kujikawa to stop and sigh.

"Six ganmodoki it is then..." Kujikawa grumbled as he walked towards the container on the right side of the display shelf. We all watched him walk towards the container and begin picking things out, bending slightly.

"Tch- dick's got an attitude" Kanji huffed, crossing his arms. I stared at Kujikawa in slight concern. The commercial's that I've seen so far with him in it shows him to be rather upbeat and cheerful. So far, he's nothing like he seems on television… Just what is it that made Kujikawa go on a hiatus? He denied the fact of having any physical and psychological issues, so it can't be something so simple as "he's tired". Something is really bugging Kujikawa- something _big_. Who else would suddenly go on a hiatus right as they got a lead role for a promising film and had a clear future of being in the top tens as a popular idol? Just what is it that's cause him to break like this…?

"Man, am I glad I came!" Hanamura suddenly exclaimed, a happy look on his face. "We have totally completed our mission today~!" I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's sudden announcement, looking over to Kanji for assistance.

Noticing my gaze, Kanji raised an eyebrow and growled in annoyance, "We have a _lot_ more work to do."

"'Work'?" Hanamura repeated as he looked at Kanji. "What's that? I'm not following." Kanji grabbed Hanamura by the collar and sneered, but had no effect on him. Thinking that it would be best to take matters in my own hands, I walked over to Kujikawa- catching his attention.

"Excuse me, this might sound weird- but have you noticed anything strange or off lately?" I asked, causing Kujikawa to blink- his actions coming to a halt.

"Weird…? Like stalkers or something?" Kujikawa asked. He glanced over to the others before looking back at me. "Are you guys fans of mine?"

"I wouldn't say 'we,'" Kanji interrupted, catching Kujikawa's attention. Pointing at Hanamura (who had recovered from his earlier actions) and continued, "But yeah, dude here's a big fan." Hanamura gasped and glared at Kanji.

"You little…! Why'd you let that slip?!" Hanamura scowled. Kanji raised an eyebrow in an imitating manner and crossed his arms over his chest.

"'His muscles, his posture, his strong legs that go on forever'" Kanji began in a mocking tone, repeating Hanamura's earlier comments. "…Ya finished checkin' 'em out yet, or what?"

"Waaaaaaah!" Hanamura wailed, his face going red. "Wh-Why are you saying it like that, you asshole?! Stop makin' it sound like I have a man crush on the guy!" Hanamura faced Kujikawa and me, his face so crimson red you'd think that it was his blood.

"Look, I-I didn't say that! I never said _any_ of that! And I _don't_ have a man crush on you!" Hanamura quickly denied, waving his hands frantically. "It's more of a role model type of thing! You're like- the _godfather_ of all ladies men! That's why I respect- no, _adore_ you! Nothing weird, I swear!"

"Uh…" was all that Kujikawa could manage. Realizing what Hanamura had said, he fell to his knees in utter embarrassment and covered his face with his hands. I walked over to Hanamura in pity and patted his head in an attempt to comfort him.

Looking back over to Kujikawa, I began "Setting this guy's embarrassment to the side- have you heard of the Midnight Channel?" Kujikawa blinked in surprise before continuing his work.

"You mean that show last night?" Kujikawa asked, not glancing our way .

"Hey, that's it! S-So, you mean you saw it last night?!" Hanamura asked as he suddenly stood up, a serious expression on his face. Kanji pulled me back a little towards him and bent down so that he was at the same head level as I was.

"Senpai's like a cockroach… No matter how many times you stomp 'im, he somehow manages to bounce right back up" Kanji commented softly in surprise, so that only I could hear him.

"Maybe he's just a really good actor…? He does bounce back up as you say when things get serious" I replied half-heartedly in a whisper, causing Kanji to chuckle nervously. Kujikawa blinked in surprise at Hanamura's sudden recovery before nodding.

"Yeah, and I've heard the rumors too from some friends of mine," Kujikawa explained as he walked over to the cashier with a white plastic bag.

"But listen, that guy on the T.V wasn't me" Kujikawa suddenly reassured, causing Hanamura to hum in confusion. "I've never worn that type of swimming trunks before in any video. And then there's his muscles..." Kujikawa suddenly walked over to me and gave me the bag of ganmodoki before rolling up his right sleeve and showing it to us.

"His had more definition than mine does" Kujikawa explained as Hanamura poked Kujikawa's arm.

"Whoa, wow you're right..." Hanamura gasped as he continued to poke Kujikawa's arm. Kujikawa didn't seem to mind it, although he did look rather confused. Kanji clicked his tongue and pulled Hanamura back from Kujikawa, causing Kujikawa to roll his sleeve back down.

"What does _touching_ them have anything to do with how they _looked_...?!" Kanji growled, frustrated. "Are you sure you don't have a man crush on the dude?" Hanamura growled back and slapped Kanji's hand away from him.

"Shuddup! I really don't, okay?!" Hanamura denied strongly, causing Kanji to become stunned. Hanamura then looked back at Kujikawa with a silly determined face and clenched his left fist, continuing "I just need to know the secrets behind his success and become the ultimate ladies man that I know I am…!" Kanji nearly fell to the floor at Hanamura's words, gripping his head in exhaustion.

"You're killin' me here, Senpai… Just when I think you have somethin' admirable about you, you say shit like _that_..." Kanji sighed.

"Well, at least he's not lying to himself by saying he _is_ a ladies man..." Kujikawa remarked, causing Hanamura to nod excitedly- as if expecting a praise from a master. I've been wondering about this ever since it came up… I looked over to Kanji and tilted my head slightly.

"What does that even mean? 'Ladies man'?" I asked, causing Kanji to look at me in even more exhaustion.

"It'd be best if you just forget 'bout it..." Kanji sighed while rubbing the back of his neck. I blinked in surprise by his answer and nodded obediently.

"Hey, just what exactly _is_ that show about, anyway?" Kujikawa suddenly asked, bringing us back on topic.

"Well, we're not sure yet" I replied. "But there's a really good chance that the person seen on that show maybe kidnapped next. I presume that you've heard about all the stuff that's happening recently?" Kujikawa looked serious as he nodded, a bead of sweat slowly rolling down his left cheek.

"I know this is a lot to swallow- but we're not lying or yankin' your chain here," Kanji remarked. Kujikawa said nothing as he stared at the three of us. We stared back, standing firm on our claim.

During this little stare down, I could hear a familiar voice shouting at people on the other side of the door- slowly coming closer. Is that…?

"Excuse me! We uh- huh? What?" a voice suddenly chirped before gasping in surprise, the door opening. We all looked at the door- and just as I thought- saw Dojima and Adachi. Adachi had a surprised look on his face at the sight before him while Dojima… had a suspicious look. Glancing around the group of people, Dojima's eyes met mine- and his expression turned stern. I couldn't help but gulp softly under his cold stare.

"H-Hey, what's up Dojima-san?" Hanamura greeted nervously as he patted his head for some reason. Unable to withstand Dojima's stare, I looked down at the plastic bag in my hands.

"What exactly are you all doing here?" Dojima asked. "Huh?" I could hear Kanji suddenly click his tongue in annoyance as a heavy atmosphere began to fill the once historic air.

"Kanji Tatsumi..." Dojima growled.

"Yeah, okay- um… Right!" Hanamura suddenly began, placing a hand on my shoulder. As if being freed from a spell, I was able to look at Dojima and Adachi again with confidence.

"We were here just to buy some ganmodoki and… now that we have it, we're gonna go now!" Hanamura continued before turning to Kujikawa and paying him for the food. Grabbing my hand, Hanamura suddenly dashed out the shop- dragging Kanji along as well. Hanamura dragged the two of us all the way over to Kanji's shop before finally letting go of us.

"Man… I nearly passed out back there!" Hanamura panted, turning to face me. "Your uncle is one scary dude. He turned the whole atmosphere from, like, serious to _deadly_ serious."

"Uncle?" Kanji asked, looking at me. I nodded, remembering that I never told Kanji about Dojima yet.

"The man with the stubble. He's my uncle from my… who I'm staying with for a year" I explained. Kanji blinked twice before smiling, impressed.

"Huh. How convenient- you have an uncle who got the in's and out's of the cases" Kanji pointed out.

"Right? That's why Narukami-chan is always the first one to contradict one of us. She knows a bit more than we do" Hanamura explained, also seeming impressed. I glanced back and forth between the boys, wondering why the were so impressed. After all, this was nothing more than pure coincidence.

"Anyways, what do we do now?" Kanji asked, changing the subject.

"Let's call it a day for now" I began, as I tucked a flock of hair behind my left ear."We warned Kujikawa-san about the kidnappings and how he might be next. We were in there for a while and no one suspicious came around, so he should be safe until tomorrow." Kanji crossed his arms over his chest and nodded.

"So then, tomorrow we'll keep an eye on him?" Kanji asked. I nodded, looking at Hanamura who seemed a bit surprised by my suggestion.

"More or less. That way, we'll also have Nise-kun and Yukiko-chan with us as well" I explained. Hanamura nodded and smiled.

"Alright, sounds good with me" Kanji announced. I looked over at him and nodded.

"It'll be raining again tonight, so be sure to watch the Midnight Channel" I instructed. Kanji nodded in reply and patted my head for some reason before entering his house. I turned to Hanamura, who surprisingly already walking and felt my face become hot. It's now or never...

"Hanamura, wait" I called out, quickly catching up to him. He looked at me in surprise and blinked. I felt my face heat up even more by this and looked ahead, unable to look him in the eye. "I, um… I was just wondering if..." My words quickly fell silent, my heated face refraining me to continue.

"H-Hey, you okay? It's rare for you to beat around the bush like this! N-Now I'm getting all nervous" Hanamura stuttered. I rubbed the back of my neck with my free hand and blinked nervously.

"S-Sorry…" I began, stuttering a little. "I was just wondering, i-if you like to that is, to have uh… dinner over at my place for the night?" Realizing how awkward my words were, I covered my face to try and hide it from the silent Hanamura.

"S-Sorry, that was weird wasn't it?" I squeaked, surprising myself. "I was planning on making you a birthday dinner, since lunch was obviously unavailable; but I didn't realize how stupid it sounded until now. Right, sorry. Okay, I'm going to go now..." And with that I quickly began to walk home. How stupid can I be? Hanamura's a guy- he probably wouldn't consider me the same way I consider him! What was I thinking, asking him if he wanted to have dinner?! Guys and girls just don't get along like that!

"Narukami-chan, wait for me!" Hanamura suddenly called out, a hand being placed on my shoulder. "So, what kind of dinner am I havin' tonight?" I froze in surprise as Hanamura wrapped an arm around my neck.

"Huh? Y-You… you're coming?" I asked. Hanamura laughed and roughly ruffled my hair.

"Uh- yeah!" Hanamura scoffed. "How could I say no to someone who has put so much effort just for a birthday?" I felt my face heat up once again as I touched Hanamura's arm, a warm feeling washing over me.

"I-I see… well then, that's good to hear" I muttered as I removed his arm from around me. The two of us walked together to the Dojima residence, Hanamura happily talking away as I listened. The corners of my lips twitched constantly as I listened. I'm glad...

* * *

 _Evening..._

3rd POV

Yosuke found himself watching television with Nanako as Hitomi cooked dinner. He couldn't help but feel a mixture of nervousness and… joy. He was both nervous and extremely happy about eating the food that Hitomi was making for him, his heart pounding unusually loud. The cake she had made him was stored in the fridge as Hitomi cooked, her hair tied up into a ponytail. Nanako, being a big fan of Junes, didn't mind that Yosuke was going to eat dinner with them.

"Hey, you sure your uncle won't mind that I'm here?" Yosuke found himself asking Hitomi, recalling the moment they had bumped into Dojima and Adachi earlier.

"Well, my uncle seems to care if we get in trouble," Hitomi began as she chopped the ganmodoki while vegetables steamed in a pot next to her. "This doesn't count as trouble and it's your birthday, so I'm sure he'll understand… he'll probably end up coming late tonight anyways." Yosuke sighed softly as he rubbed the back of his head. He hoped that Dojima would come home late so that he could enjoy his birthday dinner with Hitomi. The last thing he wanted was to see Hitomi (and/or himself) undergo an interrogation by Dojima as to why they were talking with Ryo Kujikawa. They could always say that they were just buying tofu and wanted to meet the famous Ryouta- since that's basically what they did- but Yosuke had a feeling that Dojima would start getting suspicious.

"How do you usually celebrate your birthdays, Hanamura?" Hitomi suddenly asked, snapping Yosuke out of his thoughts.

"With my parents," Yosuke replied, smiling a little. "We usually do it on our days off from work… When we still lived in the city, we'd go to a restaurant out of town, eat, and then spend the night in a hotel."

"I see… Ah, hey- you know, I've met your father, but I have yet to meet your mother" Hitomi began, only noticing this now. "Why is that?"

"My mom is just your average housewife- so she usually cleans the house and talk with her friends back in the city using Skype" Yosuke explained. "She also acts as a back-up staff for night-shifts sometimes."

"I see. I hope I get to meet her one day" Hitomi admitted as she began making miso soup.

"I don't think you do..." Yosuke laughed dryly.

Hitomi blinked in surprise and Hitomi looked over her shoulder at Yosuke, asking "Why not?"

"Just take my word for it…" Yosuke sighed. He then looked at Nanako, who was watching her usual quiz show with interest. "So, Nanako-chan! How are you doing?" Nanako looked over to Yosuke and smiled.

"I'm fine," Nanako replied before realizing something. "Oh, Big Sis said it was your birthday…how old are you?"

"Seventeen!" Yosuke grinned at Nanako. "When's your birthday?"

"October 4th" Nanako smiled. "I'm turning seven this year!"

Yosuke laughed and ruffled Nanako's hair. "That's good to hear!" Nanako giggled at Yosuke's actions, feeling honored to play with the son of her favorite store.

"Say…when's Bis Sis's birthday?" Nanako asked as she turned to Hitomi.

"Ah… April 11th," Hitomi answered, pressing her lips together. Yosuke and Nanako exclaimed in surprise as they turned their attention towards Hitomi.

"No way, you mean to say you turned 16 the _day_ you moved here?!" Yosuke exclaimed. Hitomi hummed in reply, causing Nanako to puff out her cheeks as she suddenly stood up.

"Why didn't you say so?! Daddy and me missed your birthday!" Nanako huffed in frustration as she ran over to Hitomi, tackling her back- earning a grunt of surprise from Hitomi. Hitomi blinked in surprise as she looked down at Nanako who wrapped her arms around her and hugged Hitomi's slender body tightly.

Nanako found great comfort when hugging Hitomi- despite the anger and slight disappointment she felt in herself at the moment. As opposed to Dojima, Hitomi's body was a bit easier and softer to hug. It brought back a lot of familiar memories from hugging her mother…

"I'm sorry… I've grown used to thinking that my birthday wasn't really all that special, so I didn't say anything. And besides, a lot happened when I arrived here" Hitomi explained, feeling guilty for some reason for not telling the small girl that it was her birthday the day she arrived. Yosuke blinked in surprise at Hitomi's information, standing up on his knees.

"Hey, what do you mean you're used to thinking you're birthday isn't special…?" Yosuke asked, growing curious and slightly concerned. Hitomi looked over her shoulder at Yosuke before looking back at her food and continued cooking.

"Nevermind" Hitomi replied simply. Yosuke stared at Hitomi's back with sad eyes. He couldn't put his finger on it, but… for some reason, he felt like Hitomi was hiding something from him. Yosuke wanted to ask more, but the sadness that he was able to feel coming off from Hitomi just wouldn't let his mouth to open. With a sigh, Yosuke turned around and continued to watch T.V by his lonesome since Nanako showed no sign of removing herself from Hitomi anytime soon.

A few minutes had passed when the atmosphere in the room had lighten up again when Hitomi brought up a funny joke. Nanako and Yosuke were laughing, sharing the best jokes they knew, making comments on them. Hitomi by far would throw out the best pun jokes here and there after some jokes, causing the duo to laugh even more. Hitomi was too focused on making dinner, so she didn't laugh at all. But Nanako, who stayed by her, could see that Hitomi's lips would twitch on occasions.

After a few more jokes, Hitomi suddenly began to hum and mutter to herself, catching the laughing duo's attention. The uncertain humming and muttering made Hanamura's heart pound for some reason, which made him worried.

"W-What's wrong this time?" Yosuke asked, stuttering a little.

"N-Nevermind, it's nothing" Hitomi replied quickly, stuttering a little. This caused Yosuke's heart to skip a beat, making him more worried as he stood on his knees, facing Hitomi. He wasn't aware of the fact that he was blushing a little.

"Hey, don't you 'nevermind' me! When you stutter like that it makes me all nervous!" Yosuke admitted. Hitomi pressed her lips together shyly, preventing her from saying anything. Yosuke looked over at Nanako and nodded firmly at her, causing Nanako to nod back before looking up at Hitomi.

"Big Sis, is something wrong?" Nanako asked. Hitomi looked down at Nanako, about to say that it was nothing before realizing something.

 _Nanako's a girl too…_ Hitomi thought. She unknowingly blushed a little as she turned the stove's heat down to a medium.

"Erm, well..." Hitomi began. She suddenly looked over to Yosuke and said firmly, "Hanamura, cover your ears."

"What? Why?!" Yosuke asked, feeling a little angry for some reason. Hitomi blushed even more before looking down at Nanako.

"J-Just do it, please..." Hitomi stuttered. A shiver went down Yosuke's spine at Hitomi's words and obediently covered his ears, turning towards the T.V. Certain that Yosuke wasn't listening, Hitomi crouched down to Nanako's height- blinking nervously.

"Um, Nanako… you're friends with some boys in your class right?" Hitomi asked. Nanako blinked before nodding.

"Uh-huh" Nanako replied.

"Well..." Hitomi glanced over to where Yosuke was. "I-Is it weird for a girl to consider a boy as their best friend?" Nanako tilted her head at Hitomi's question before shaking her head.

"No, of course not!" Nanako replied strongly, catching Hitomi's attention. "I'm best friends with Miwa-chan, Sa-kun, and Na-kun." Hitomi pressed her lips together and looked down at her thighs.

"They… don't think it's weird?" Hitomi asked.

"Nu-uh" Nanako replied confidently as she shook her head. "We all like to play with each other and we always have fun! We care about each other too, which is why we're best friends." Hitomi's eyes widened as she looked up at Nanako, realizing something.

"I-I see..." Hitomi stuttered before sighing in relief. Nanako looked over to Yosuke then back at Hitomi, slowly putting the pieces together.

"...Is Yosuke-kun your best friend?" Nanako asked. Hitomi blushed a little as she nodded in reply.

Hitomi was embarrassed at the fact that she had considered Yosuke to be her best friend. He _was_ the _first_ friend she had not only made in Inaba- but in general. Hitomi only had two people in her life, and when they both left… she was all alone. Over the years, she had watched people from her schools bond and become friends with one another. In all those schools, she noticed that there was a specific pattern: boys were closer to boys and girls were closer to girls. She asked a classmate of hers one day, and that was how she learned of the word "best friends".

When Hitomi first learned that she was going to live here for a year on her own with her uncle, Hitomi decided to finally make some companions, partners. "Friends" and "best friends". She thought that the one to be labeled as her "best friend" would be female- since that was what she was used to seeing. But when she noticed how much fun, how safe and relaxed she felt around Yosuke- the two caring about each other's overall health… It surprised and frankly _scared_ her to label Yosuke as her "best friend". After all, she had seen children her age become "best friends" with others that were the same sex. They have similar problems and can easily relate to one another. But with the opposite gender… it's proven difficult. Hitomi then became scared of losing Yosuke-what if their differences in gender caused them to distant one another? It was scary for Hitomi to imagine that… so for now, she decided on keeping the "best friend" label to herself until they both felt mutual about it.

"...Nanako, please don't tell him that, okay? This is our little secret" Hitomi whispered. Nanako nodded with a smile, feeling excited about keeping a secret with Hitomi.

"Okay!" Nanako chirped. After that, Hitomi ushered Nanako back to the T.V so that she could focus on finishing making the food.

* * *

When Dojima arrived home, he was surprised to see Yosuke there as well. Yosuke greeted him nervously, while Nanako was more upbeat about his presence. Hitomi was currently in the kitchen, cooking dinner, so she didn't do much.

"Making dinner, Hitomi?" Dojima asked, just for the sake of making Hitomi talk. Hitomi glanced at him and nodded, before quickly returning to her food. Dojima couldn't help but smirk a little at this action- thinking that his niece was just a little too serious.

"Well, I hope you can add in some momen to whatever you're making. I ended up buying some tofu" Dojima said with a huff, recalling how Adachi had somehow managed to convince him to buy the silky tofu.

"Sure, that'll add some flavor. Just set it down on the kitchen table there" Hitomi instructed before taking a sip of the miso soup she was making. She nodded to herself as she took the salt and dashed in some, thinking that tofu would be just the thing to bring out the ingredients. Dojima set down the tofu on the kitchen table like he was ordered to and eyed the fawn haired boy. Yosuke _was_ alone with his daughter and his fairly attractive niece- Dojima couldn't help but become angry as he watched Yosuke's movements. Yosuke- unaware of the attention Dojima was giving him looked over at Hitomi and chuckled weakly.

"Sorry if this sounds rude, but uh… can you not add any tofu in my share? I-I actually can't eat it" Yosuke admitted. Surprised by the news, Hitomi nodded and quickly started coming up with an idea to make the tofu separately for those who wanted it- quickly busying herself with cooking once again. Dojima narrowed his eyes at Yosuke, still trying to read if anything happened.

"You're staying over for dinner?" Dojima asked. Yosuke felt the blood in his face drain a little as he gulped. This was the thing he _really_ wanted to avoid...

"Narukami-chan invited me" Yosuke laughed nervously. "It's my birthday today."

"Yosuke-kun is seventeen!" Nanako exclaimed, smiling at Yosuke. Yosuke smiled back, causing all of Dojima's suspicions to instantly go away. Nanako wouldn't have been so carefree and happy to someone who did her harm.

"Hey Daddy! Did you know that Big Sis's birthday is April 11th, the day she came here? We missed it!" Nanako whined as she looked at her father. Dojima blinked in surprise- shocked to be rather honest.

"I…didn't know that, actually" Dojima managed as he turned to Hitomi. "How old are you exactly?"

"Sixteen," Hitomi replied bluntly as she took out a knife and began slicing the tofu quickly- as if she had many years of culinary school behind her. Dojima's eyes widened at the level of skill- as well as her answer.

"Are you saying you _just_ turned sixteen this year?" Dojima asked. Hitomi nodded as she slid the chopped block of tofu to the side of the cutting board with her knife.

"Speaking of birthdays, when's yours?" Hitomi asked as she began to slicing the new block of tofu.

"May 16th, why?" Dojima replied, looking questioningly at Hitomi. Hitomi nearly cut herself on the knife when she heard Dojima's answer.

"We…we missed your birthday...?!" Hitomi muttered, almost sounding… heartbroken. Dojima was taken back with Hitomi's response, blinking rapidly as a drop of sweat began to trace his jawline.

"I-I didn't think it really mattered…" Dojima stuttered.

"It mattered to me..." Hitomi replied with a pout. "Now I have to make something for you." Dojima couldn't help but stare at Hitomi in shock as she continued to slice. Yosuke looked between Dojima and Hitomi in surprise.

"You two are… pretty alike. Aren't they Nanako?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah, they are!" Nanako agreed with a giggle. Hitomi and Dojima both looked up at the two and blinked.

"Are we really that similar?" they asked at the same time, quickly turning their attention to each other in surprise. Nanako laughed while Yosuke felt a drop of sweat fall of his chin. It was kinda scary how similar they were...

It had started raining by the time Hitomi had finally finished making dinner. Hitomi and Nanako had offered Yosuke to stay the night innocently without thinking of what their words meant. Of course, Dojima and Yosuke both refused rejected that offer. There was _no way_ Dojima was going to let a teenage boy sleep in the same room as his sister's eldest daughter- whom he had unconsciously started to care for. And Yosuke was too embarrassed to even _think_ about sharing the same room as Hitomi- like the campout. It took him at least an hour before he finally fell asleep thanks to the sudden hugging incident with Hitomi. He didn't meant to hug her like that- but feeling her shiver so much like that in fear, his body just reacted on his own. There was no telling what he might do if he spends the night in the same room as her the _whole_ night. Dojima decided to drive Yosuke home once they finished eating, since it was late and raining.

Dinner was rather awkward for Yosuke, in terms of how he felt Dojima's stare on mostly him and Hitomi the entire time. Hitomi was blissfully oblivious to Dojima's stare, too tired and hungry to notice.

"We sure have a lot of tofu," Nanako remarked as she looked at the abundance of tofu dishes. There was tofu steak, miso soup with the option of tofu, niku tofu, hiyayakko, and even hijiki no nimono. Of course, she wasn't complaining- with such a large variety and all made to perfection, she quite enjoyed the food. Everyone (save for Yosuke's bowl, which was devoid of and replaced with ganmodoki) had at least some form of tofu on their plate.

"So… about this afternoon," Dojima began causing Yosuke to freeze. "You two and Kanji Tatsumi all visited Ryo Kujikawa today. What did you talk about?" Hitomi stopped eating for a moment and looked at Yosuke, who was silently pleading her not to say anything.

"Kanji-kun is a friend of ours" Hitomi began, causing Yosuke and Dojima to freeze- but for different reasons. "Hanamura is a big fan of Kujikawa-san, so we decided to see him. I took the chance to buy ganmodoki since I was planning on having Hanamura come over for dinner." Dojima stared at Hitomi, patiently waiting for her to answer his question.

Taking a quick sip of her tea, Hitomi finally admitted "...We were talking about the cases."

"Wha-?! I told you to keep your hands off this. Listen, this is a job for the police!" Dojima scowled, upset that his niece was doing something that was considered dangerous. He recalled the conversation he had with Ryo and Adachi after Hitomi, Yosuke, and Kanji had left- Dojima unwillingly buying momen.

-Flashback-

 _"Thank you very much. Your receipt's in the bag" Ryo said as he handed a plastic bag of three momen blocks his grandmother was able to find in the storage. Ryo stared at the detective and his assistant as they stood in front of him. He recalled their names were Ryotaro Dojima and Tohru Adachi. That was as much as he knew about them, aside from the fact that they have been helping him out with the crowd that would usually be outside the shop- like yesterday._

 _"Now that that's done," Dojima sighed as he took the bag from Ryo. "Sorry, but there's some things I'd like to ask you." Ryo looked questioningly at Dojima. There was something about him that reminded him of someone…_

 _"You do know that there have been multiple violent cases around here lately, yeah?" Dojima waited for a confirmation from Ryo before continuing his questioning. "Have you seen anyone suspicious around?"_

 _"Not really… It's been like always" Ryo sighed, averting his eyes. As sad as it was for Ryo to admit… he had been hoping it would be different in Inaba._

 _"Like always…" Dojima repeated. "Well, you're a pop idol, so I imagine you deal with folks like fans, paparazzi, and stalkers quite often. What made you take a break from showbiz?"_

 _"Tch, does it really matter?" Ryo scoffed, becoming annoyed. He really wished people would just take his word and stop asking him questions. "…I just needed a rest."_

 _"And have you registered for school?" Dojima continued asking._

 _"I'm planning on going to Yasogami High," Ryo replied. "It was the closest." Dojima and Adachi looked at each other upon hearing this. Ryo looked questioningly at them and wondered if he said something wrong._

 _"I don't mean to alarm you, but…" Dojima began, turning his attention to Ryo once again. "You do have some things in common with the recent victims. That's why, well…" Ryo sighed. So that's why they were questioning him…_

 _"I might be kidnapped, right? I've been told that before. Don't worry, I'll be careful" Ryo reassured halfheartedly. It's been a long day with those annoying fans- and that trio earlier- he wants to go to bed._

 _"Huh…?" Adachi's eyes widened. "Someone told you already?"_

 _"Those three that left earlier- they told me" Ryo explained. "So, if we're done- I'd like to rest for the day. Be sure to close the door on your way out gentleman." Dojima and Adachi reluctantly nodded and left Marukyu, closing the door behind them as Ryo had asked._

 _Dojima was shocked by this information. He wanted to warn Ryo because of a gut feeling… So how did a bunch of high schoolers beat him to it without knowing the in's and out's of the case? Sure there was Hitomi, but he made sure to go through the case when she wasn't around or paying attention. There was no way for her to know more about the progress the police made that wasn't released on social media. Of course… there have been times he would forget to bring all the papers he took back with him to work. But they were always left untouched when he would return. So how…?_

-End Flashback-

Hitomi looked completely unfazed with Dojima's stern words and stare and just continued eating. Yosuke was rather amazed at how calm Hitomi was, unlike him, who was trembling. Dojima on the other hand knew that Hitomi was actually rather scared- she was just really _really_ good at not showing any emotions. The only way Dojima was even able to tell that she was scared was the slight tremble of her hand as she ate.

"Sorry, forget about it… I shouldn't have brought it up" Dojima sighed as he scratched the back of his head. Hitomi flinched before taking a sip of her miso soup- calm now. It had taken Nanako a minute to process what her father had mentioned earlier. When she did, her eyes widened as she stared in awe at Hitomi, Yosuke, and Dojima.

"You guys met Ryo-kun?!" Nanako asked, impressed.

"Yeah…" Dojima sighed. Nanako stared at her father before frowning.

"Are you… fighting again?" Nanako asked.

"Of course not…" Dojima nervously insisted. "Here, hurry and finish your dinner."

"Ah, Nanako- I think I have some strawberry shortcake for dessert" Hitomi said as she swallowed her food, trying to cheer Nanako up a bit. "I've been making them since early this morning!" Yosuke blinked in surprise at this, wondering how long she has been preparing for this.

"Big Sis… are you gonna make me a cake for my birthday?" Nanako asked as she looked expectantly at Hitomi. Hitomi nodded in reply, her eyes softening.

"Yay! Big Sis is the best!" Nanako cheered as a crimson blush tinged Nanako's cheeks.

* * *

Once everyone had eaten their dinner, a large portion of the tofu feast still left, Dojima drove Yosuke home like he had said he would. While Hitomi and Nanako cleaned, shortly taking a bath together at Nanako's request, Hitomi received a text message from Yosuke that made Hitomi's throat tickle.

 _Yo, Dojima-san is seriously hating on me. He won't drop the whole sward thing! ヘ(ಥ△ ಥ；ヘ) Put in a good word if he starts saying something about me, 'kay? I wanna look good since he's your uncle and all! ⊂(( •̀ᴗ-))✧_

 _Anyway, dinner was nice- best b-day yet! Midnight Channel will be on again, right? I'll call you as usual after the show ends._

Hitomi was glad that she was able to make Yosuke happy. Although, it took a lot of her energy- the first thing she wanted to do was sleep. But with the midnight channel suppose to come on, she did what she always did best- studying. Just like last night, Hitomi found herself finished rather early and decided to read some more "Witch Detective". She was starting to think that Momo's- the main protagonist- love interest was slowly catching on to her secret.

 _If Momo-chan doesn't find the killer soon- she won't be able to be a normal girl,_ Hitomi thought to herself as she pouted slightly, worried for the fictional character. Realizing that midnight was soon approaching- Hitomi closed her book with a sigh and returned it to the shelf before walking towards the T.V. There, she waited patiently for the clock to strike twelve- her eyes glued to the blank screen.

A few minutes later, the clock struck midnight and the television screen flickered on- causing the room to fill with the familiar dim yellow glow. The image was fairly clear tonight and the figure that appeared was the same boy as before, wearing the same transparent dress shirt and speedo as well. His chest and thighs were emphasized yet again, causing Hitomi to become embarrassed. But that embarrassment didn't stick with her long as the image of the boys face became visible. Tonight, there was no doubt about it… the boy on the Midnight Channel was in fact Ryo Kujikawa. Hitomi turned around and quickly grabbed her iPhone from the coffee table and awaited for Yosuke to call. Seconds later, her phone rang and she answered the call.

"Hanamura! It was him, wasn't it?" Hitomi immediately asked. She clearly saw the image on screen- but she wanted to make sure that her eyes weren't playing any tricks on her.

" _Yeah, it was. We were right about it being Ryo Kujikawa_ " Yosuke assured, sounding serious.

"I thought so. Although, he seemed creepier than the Kujikawa-san we met today…" Hitomi remarked as she walked over to her futon. "But we were able to see his face clearly."

" _Right. We need to get everyone together as soon as possible tomorrow. 'Night, Narukami-chan_ " Yosuke instructed before hanging up. Hitomi sat down on her futon and tightly clenched her iPhone. Tomorrow will be the day they can put an end to this sick game… Hitomi wanted the killer to be caught- so that she wouldn't have to worry about anyone else dying in this town. It was a peaceful place when there was no one getting killed… a place where she could hang out with her friends. Hitomi wanted to experience more of that before she left. To return to a place where nothing was warm.

* * *

 _Thursday, June 23nd_ | _Lunch…_

Hitomi's POV

"Oh no..." Yukiko sighed shortly after the lunch bell rang, catching my attention. Nise- who was ready to bolt out the door as usual- stopped and looked at Yukiko in concern.

"What's up, Yukiko?" Nise asked, tying his hands behind the back of his head.

"I forgot to bring my lunch with me today..." Yukiko explained, sounding a bit ashamed. Nise blinked in surprise as he untied his hands, resting one on Yukiko's head while the other rested at his hip.

"Aw, really? What are you going to eat then?" Nise asked, comforting the now pouting Yukiko. I quickly shuffled through my bag and pulled out my two bento boxes, before standing up and walking over to the duo.

"Hey, Yukiko-chan" I called out, catching their attention. I extended a bento towards her, continuing "I have a spare bento you can eat." Yukiko and Nise blinked in surprise, as if shocked by my offer. Once she realized that I wasn't joking, Yukiko smiled as a soft pink dusted Nise's cheeks.

"Really? Thank you so much, Hitomi-chan! You're the best" Yukiko chirped as she took the bento in my hand, the two looking at it in awe.

"No problem" I replied, a warm feeling washing over me as the corner of my lips twitched.

"Why do you have two bento's, Narukami-chan?" Nise suddenly asked, catching my attention.

"Well, I made dinner for Hanamura yesterday since it was his birthday- so I made a lot of food" I answered bluntly. Nise gasped dramatically as his hands suddenly flew to the sides of his heads.

"It was Yosuke's birthday yesterday?!" Nise exclaimed. He suddenly turned around and sprinted out the front door towards the stairs, shouting "I gotta go bug him about it!"

"There he goes..." Yukiko giggled as she looked over to me. "Knowing Nise, he's probably going to tease Yosuke about being childish sometimes- even though he's older than him."

"When is Nise-kun's birthday?" I asked, tucking a flock of hair behind my left ear.

"Nise's birthday is on July 30th. Mine is on December 8th, if you wanted to know" Yukiko replied. I hummed and nodded, slowly turning my attention towards the

"Hitomi-chan, since Nise ran off- can I eat with you today?" "We'd usually go to the lunch room together and grab a table with Yosuke. I can't make my way through that large crowed of people by myself- so… do you mind?" I blinked in surprise at the offer, feeling my face heat up. I was used to hanging around Yukiko, so it's not that I really had any reason to be shy. But, if she were to find out that I considered Hanamura my best friend over her… I wonder how angry she would be? Most women would be upset at something like that, right?

"Ah, um… not at all" I replied nervously, rubbing the back of my head.

"Great! Let's head up to the roof then- it'll be a nice day until eight later tonight, so let's enjoy it while we can" Yukiko suggested with a bright smile. I nodded and the two of us headed towards the back door of the classroom and head towards the roof.

As the two of us walked up to the third floor, we noticed a group of guys cheering in the form of a circle. I couldn't help but stare at this crowd, stopping at the top of the second stairs.

"What's going on?" I finally asked, looking over at Yukiko. Yukiko blinked at the loud group, just as confused as me.

"Looks like a… competition?" Yukiko guessed. Suddenly, the group roared with awe and applauded as a boy laughed- rubbing the back of his head. The other boy was looking triumphant while patting the first boy's shoulder. The boy had rather dark skin and a thick afro, golden hazel eyes popping from his white sockets. Yukiko and I blinked in surprise at their actions and started walking towards the stairs leading to the roof. I was slowly getting a headache.

"Hey, you two ladies!" a husky voice called out, causing us to tops and turn around. We noticed that the group of boys were staring at us while the boy with the afro stood against the curved railing that overlooked the first and second floor.

"You two are second-years right?" the boy with the afro asked. Yukiko and I looked at each other before looking back at the group.

"Um, yes?" Yukiko replied. "Why did you assume that? We could have been first years… or even third years." The group of boys surrounding the one with the afro started to snicker, as if Yukiko had something amusing.

"Heh, why did I assume that?" the afro boy asked with a smirk.

"It's 'cause OG knows the ways of the world, man!" the group of boys answered, pumping their left arm in the air once before becoming silent again. It was almost as if they were at a concert and was responding to the singer.

"I don't know you, and you're coming up- so it's 50-50 that you're a second year!" the afro boy- OG- explained.

"OG using deductive reasoning like- _whoa_ , son!" the group exclaimed, putting a lot of emphasis on the 'whoa' to add effect, I suppose.

"Now I, the OG third-year, will challenge you two, the second-year young bloods, with a riddle!" OG announced, pointing at Yukiko and I as he pushed himself off the railing.

"A..." Yukiko began, "Riddle?" I finished. Yukiko and I looked at each other before back at the group.

"We were actually going to eat up on the roof, so..." Yukiko explained nervously, the two of us slowly making our way to the first step.

"Hey hold up now, ladies!" OG called out, causing us to stop once again as a soft frustrated sigh escaped from Yukiko. We turned to face him, which he continued "If you answer correctly, I will present you with a key!" I flinched at the news, suddenly becoming interested.

"A key? To what?" Yukiko asked.

"That's the thing- no one knows except for OG man!" a boy, with black hair while wearing sunglasses on his forehead, explained. "Peeps have been tryin' to get that key since April, man! OG says that it's fire- able to open up _anything_!"

"Open anything…?" Yukiko repeated, sounding just as interested as me. "That certainly sounds interesting. What do you think, Hitomi-chan?" I nodded quickly, not even looking at her as I approached OG.

"Sure, why not? We have some time to spare" I replied. "I have to warn you though- I'm pretty good at riddles." The group of boys 'ooh'ed and chuckled, commenting on my confidence.

"Looks like your spirit is willing. Let's see if your mind can vibe to this…!" OG snickered, causing the boys to get riled up.

"Go OG! Show 'em little girls your _fine_ funky vibe, bro!" the boys said in unison.

"Riddle time!" OG began. "I'ma drop some stuff into two distinct categories. At the end you gotta drop the last item onto the proper category. Can you dig it, ladies?!"

"Can you dig?!" the boys repeated. I looked at the boys with a blank look, causing some of them to flinch and visibly look nervous.

Looking back at OG, I nodded and said "I'm sure we'll manage."

"'Kay- listen close:" OG began with a smirk. " _Red's_ group _A_. _Gray's_ group _B_. _White's_ puttin' it down for group _A_. _Orange_ has a group _B_ tattoo. _Green's_ _A_ for sheezy. _Pink_ is group _B_ times infinity." I nodded slowly as I repeated the information in my head, glancing over to Yukiko who had been standing next to me.

"A'ight, so which group does 'black' belong to, _A_ or _B_? Holla!" OG asked with enthusiasm as he started to walk around us with his hands in his pockets.

"It has to be…" Yukiko began, catching my attention. "Group B, right? For car colors?"

"Is that your final answer?!" OG asked loudly, causing her to jump slightly in surprise. I glanced up at OG eyes to try and look intimidating.

"No- it isn't" I replied firmly. I looked over to Yukiko as OG started to walk around the two of us and continued, "The correct answer is group A- for the top 6 flag colors."

I looked back at OG and quickly added with confidence- " _That_ 's our final answer." OG stopped walking around us as he stood in front of me, our eyes locked with each other.

"Well, OG? Did they pass?" the boys asked. OG remained quiet as we continued to stare at each other. He was trying to make me succumb to his gaze and change my answer- but that's not going to happen. I know how this riddle goes. I'm _confident_ about my answer.

"...Yay ya-y!" OG laughed suddenly, causing Yukiko and the boys to jump while I relaxed. "Your mind is a beautiful thing and you are not letting it go to waste, yo! Way to be!" The group of boys 'ooh'ed in surprise as some applauded. Yukiko grabbed me by the shoulders and smiled in amazement.

"Wow, amazing! What gave it away, Hitomi-chan?" Yukiko asked.

"Well... For me, it was the colors" I replied simply. "Group A was four of the six more prevalent world flag colors. The remaining two are blue and yellow that couldn't have fit in the riddle due to the lack of time." The boys roared in awe, some of them who were standing next to OG shook him and slapped his back.

"OH! OG man just got himself some competition! And by a kohai too!" three boys said at the same time. "She didn't even let him explain it- she knew all along!" OG clicked his tongue and swatted his hand in a dismissive manner, causing the others to settle down.

"Kohai or senpai- age matters not, my loud riddle loving brothers" OG began as he looked at me with a smile. "Though, to be honest- I wasn't expecting a second-year to have such trenchant insight." OG walked up to me and patted my shoulders, laughing.

"But you have passed, and now I dub you my riddle sister and riddle apprentice. Here's a little sumthin' sumthin'!" OG laughed as he pulled something out of his pocket. He then handed me a small object and pressed my hands together over it. The boys 'oo'ed once OG let go of my hands and began to walk towards a classroom. His friends all began to tease him about something, leaving Yukiko and I speechless. We looked at each other before Yukiko smiled nervously and nodded. I nodded back and the two of us began to walk towards the stairs to the rooftop to eat.

Once we reached the top of the building, we opened the door together- a strong breeze hitting us as if upset we had exited the building. With the wind still blowing on us, Yukiko and I headed towards the lower right corner where we usually gather for meetings being held in school and sat down next to each other.

Once I was seated, I decided to look at the 'key' OG had promised to give me. Slowly opening my right hand, I gasped in surprise and awe. The key was absolutely stunning- it had a lovely sapphire gem at the bow of the key, with little gems slowly spiraling down the bronze and copper blade. The key itself was designed in a particular pattern that looked like a dreamcatcher or a winter night sky, the tip having only one short stud sticking out.

"Wow, this key is really old fashioned..." I commented, showing it to Yukiko. Yukiko took the key from my hands and examined it carefully.

"It looks like it's an antique… It's really pretty" Yukiko pointed out, smiling. "No wonder people have been trying to get this key." I nodded in agreement as she handed the key back to me. I stuffed the key into my left sock, feeling a little proud. I don't know if it will work, but maybe this key will open that thing the old woman wanted to open. I'll have to keep an eye out for her tonight.

"So, what did you cook for Yosuke?" Yukiko asked as she placed her bento on her lap, smiling.

"My uncle brought home some tofu last night, so there's a lot of that in there- it's actually a majority of the meal" I began to explain. "Since Hanamura, Kanji-kun, and I were all at Marukyu to talk with Kujikawa-san; I also got some ganmodoki in there. It's just several tofu dishes, really." Yukiko's face light up to a whole new level that I have ever seen her express and smiled widely at me.

"I love tofu! This will be delicious, I can already tell!" Yukiko giggled, sounding excited. I nodded shyly in thanks, rubbing the back of my neck.

"By the way, how is your cooking coming?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Well…" Yukiko sighed, looking away. "I've been working on it. But it's still not good enough for you to try yet." I hummed in thought as I stared at Yukiko.

"Well, Nanako and I will be looking forward to it" I reminded. Yukiko nodded with a smile in reply.

"Well, we better start eating before it get cold!" Yukiko chirped, opening her bento. I nodded in agreement and opened my own, the smell of tofu and meat wafting my way. Pulling out the plastic chopsticks that I attached to the inner roof of the bento and began to eat the niku tofu.

"Oh, it's really good! You really made this on your own for Yosuke, Hitomi-chan?" Yukiko asked in astonishment. I nodded in reply.

"The flavor is excellent, and the presentation is great, too…" Yukiko listened, picking her food. She looked at me and smiled slyly, continuing "Do you want to work as a chef at our place?"

"Wha-What?" I sputtered. "N-No, I couldn't possibly…!"

"I'm just kidding" Yukiko laughed, causing me to calm down. "Though, you'd be more than welcome, if you wanted to!" I felt my chest tighten as I stared at Yukiko's smile. I like Yukiko and trust her a lot… if I had never gone through the things I did, would I be able to consider her as my best friend? I looked down at my food, slowly continuing to eat as I glanced away towards the others eating. Yukiko must hate me… I chose Hanamura- someone I can't even call by their first name- over Yukiko as my best friend…

"You know, I've noticed that you're a bit more relaxed around the guys than around me" Yukiko suddenly pointed out, causing me to freeze. "Is there something about me that makes you nervous?"

"H-Huh? W-Well, not really..." I stuttered, loudly gulping down my food. Yukiko stared at me with a concerned look, my chest tightening even more. I let out a sigh and explained, "It's just that… I'm not really used to having a girl be so nice to me, you can say. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy being your friend and I trust you a lot Yukiko-chan. It's just… I get a little nervous." I looked away in embarrassment and ate my food quickly, feeling like I should run away.

"Hehe, that's really cute!" Yukiko suddenly laughed, causing me to nearly choke on my food. I looked over to her in surprise, blinking rapidly as she continued, "I used to get nervous around girls my age too, whenever Nise wasn't around. But since I've been hanging out with you and the others, I don't feel that way anymore." Yukiko smiled warmly at me and gently patted my shoulder. I almost melted under her touch as I let out a sigh. Yukiko is really nice to me… like an older sister.

"...Do you think it's weird that I'm more comfortable with the others since they're all guys?" I asked, my heart throbbing as soon as the word "weird" slipped out of my mouth. Yukiko blinked.

"Hm? No, of course not- I understand completely how you feel" Yukiko replied with a smile, causing me to blink in surprise. "It's just like Kanji's case. Some girls are a little difficult to get along with- and after being friends with those type of girls, you sort of become nervous around other girls, even if they're someone you can see yourself liking."

I nearly dropped my chopsticks at Yukiko's words, stunned. Yukiko… I thought for sure that she would be angry with me. I thought that she would consider me "weird" like the others before her.

"Yukiko-chan..." I muttered, my eyes stinging. I'm so glad to have such an understanding friend like her… To think that I've been neglecting her as a friend on my end.

"I-I'm so sorry, Yukiko-chan…! I didn't think you would be able to sympathize with me so well- why couldn't it have been you?" I apologized, my vision becoming blurry.

"Huh? What are you talking about…?" Yukiko asked, confused. Realizing what I said, I wiped my eyes to clear my vision and took a bite of my food.

"Nothing, I-I'm sorry. That was a little random, just forget about it" I replied after swallowing my food. "I, um… I considered you as one of my friends, Yukiko-chan. I hope that you will continue to take care of me for the year and still be my friend- maybe even my best friend in the end."

"Hehe, you're just too cute! I promise to be your friend, even if we end up fighting" Yukiko laughed, causing my face to heat up. "Hey, you don't mind if I call you Hi-chan would you? I've always wanted to call you that- it suits you." I blinked in surprise at Yukiko's request before looking down at my food shyly.

"S-Sure…" I replied shyly. Yukiko cheered at my answer, and giggled. I felt myself become more relaxed as I took a bite of my food, a warm feeling washing over me. Even though I have been helping Yukiko out with her cooking and felt a bond between the two of us, I feel as if… I trust her more. Like… I know she'll be there when I'm done and help me out when we're in the T.V world.

* * *

 _After school..._

Once school was over, Nise and Yukiko went to get Kanji while Hanamura and I went up to the roof to claim our usual meeting spot. We had to discuss the about the Midnight Channel as usual and see what everyone thought. When the others arrived, Hanamura began to meeting.

"So, about the Midnight Channel last night…" Hanamura began as he crossed his arms over his chest. "That _had_ to be Ryo Kujikawa. It even showed his face this time."

"So now we know one more thing. The ones that the culprit's targeting are…" Yuki began. "Broadcast on TV," I finished.

"Exactly!" Hanamura agreed as he nodded his head. "So we can rule out the assumption that all the victims are connected to the incident with Ms. Yamano. As for Ryo…"

"I got a glimpse of the dude on my way to school" Kanji commented, earning a nod from Hanamura. At least he's safe for now.

"I'm guessing that 'TV show' thing doesn't appear on the Midnight Channel until after the person enters the TV," Yukiko deduced.

"Berry said before that it might be the victim's own creation upon entering that world" Hanamura recalled. "I didn't understand at all at first, but now I feel that it might be true. The one that appears on TV is your other self… Maybe the victim's true feelings are shown unconsciously." I nodded slowly in agreement, recalling Igor's words about Shadow's and Persona's.

 _"…As you have already gathered, those who are present in the Midnight Channel have their fears summoned up into a single large Shadow..."_

"But how does that work?" Nise asked as he leaned back, slightly. "We see them on the Midnight Channel _before_ they disappear. You know, when it's still really fuzzy and you can't tell who it is." Hanamura hummed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah…" Hanamura muttered. "It always happens before the person disappears, like an advance notice…"

"Or like a ransom note?" Nise asked. "But who are they announcing it to? And for what? It's kind of a stupid move if you ask me." Hanamura sighed slightly in frustration, running his right hand through his hair.

"I dunno, ask the killer. There's a bunch of stuff I still don't understand" Hanamura huffed.

"Is it possible that we see those images for the same reason?" Yukiko questioned.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nise asked, looking quizzically at her.

"If the Midnight Channel shows the victim's true feelings… maybe it does the same for the culprit," Yukiko explained. " _Maybe_ what we're seeing is the culprit's intentions." I couldn't help but grimace at the thought, thinking that it was somehow wrong. The murder keeps on switching to new targets instead of going back to the previous one. The fact that we're seeing the next target on the television doesn't have anything to do with his intentions- as far as I can tell, those intentions are to simply throw them inside the television. So what is it…? How can we even see someone who's not being filmed or thrown into the television?

"Well, it's a possibility…" Hanamura thought for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest once again. "The killer _can_ throw people into the TV, after all. Which means they must have the same power that we do."

"So… When the killer thinks, 'I'm gonna attack someone now,' that's what we see on TV?" Nise asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know about that…" I sighed softly. It just doesn't make sense

"Well, if we're gonna go that far with it, we might as well say that's the basis for that entire world," Hanamura remarked. "Like, it's some kinda mix of the minds of the victims and the killer… Or maybe it's everyone's minds?"

I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's words and slowly nodded, finding this theory a bit easier to grasp. Of course, even then, some things still didn't make any sense, much to everyone's annoyance.

"Ugh… As always, nothing makes sense" Nise sighed as he ruffled his hair in frustration. "...Hey Kanji, you still with us? You haven't said a word yet." Everyone turned their attention to Kanji, who had his head lowered up until now. Almost instantly, Kanji's head snapped up as he looked at us with wide eyes. Of course, he was sitting next to me and I knew that he was actually sleeping.

"Whaa…?" Kanji replied, seeming a bit disoriented. "Uhh…Well, um…" A vein popped out on the corner of Nise's forehead as he gripped his left fist with his right.

"You weren't sleeping, _were you_ …?" Nise growled, sounding rather scary.

"O-Of course not!" Kanji insisted, straightening up. "I was uh, lost in thought." No one replied to this as they all stared at him with blank looks. I felt something tickle my throat as I rested my chin on the palm of my right hand, staring at Kanji.

"Kanji-kun looked very peaceful and cute when he slept" I commented, causing him to gasp and blush.

"S-Shut up, d-d-don't call me cute!" Kanji sputtered. Nise growled in frustration, catching our attention, before he took a staggering deep breath.

"I wish I knew what that world is all about. Berry's explanations have so many 'maybe's in them that I don't understand the first thing about it" Nise sighed in frustration.

"Why would the culprit throw people inside the TV in the first place?" Yukiko asked as she pursed her lips.

"They must know by now that people die when they're in there long enough…" Yosuke began. "There's no doubt it's attempted murder. So the TV's a good way to do that, because the police can never prove anything about the crime."

"Murder, huh…?" Kanji contemplated as he copied my pose. "So the killer's got a grudge against certain people?"

"That's what I came up with earlier, during the campout remember?" Nise pointed out, looking bored.

"But you were only making an ass of yourself 'cause you couldn't come up with anything" Kanji argued.

"Well right now, it doesn't seem like to much of a stretch does it?!" Nise replied, looking like he was slowly becoming angry. "Just remove all the stupid stuff and you get what we've reached now- the guy has a grudge on several people who _just so happen_ to appear on T.V!" I felt a drop of sweat roll down my jaw as I took a deep breath through my nose. It all can't be a coincidence… but it can't be planned out either- there's too many holes. Hanamura, who was sitting next to Nise this whole time suddenly stood up and clapped his hands, catching our attention.

"Well, the good thing is, we have another shot at getting ahead of the killer," Hanamura remarked, rather excitedly. "We can leave the motive aside for now. Once we catch 'em, we'll make 'em talk. The only thing we can be sure of now is that Ryo is in danger." Nise gasped in realization as he too jumped to his feet.

"Wait! We get to do another stakeout!?" Nise asked excitedly. Hanamura grinned and nodded firmly, the two high fiving each other.

"Hell yeah!" Hanamura exclaimed. "This time we'll catch 'em in the act!" Yukiko, Kanji and I all looked at each other with less enthusiasm as the two before standing up. With a nod from everyone, we all walked towards the door to leave.

* * *

I found myself standing behind a white minivan next to Hanamura and Nise, watching Ryo shuffle through some magazines outside of the Yomenaido Bookstore.

Right as the five of us all reached the northern side of the shopping district, we noticed Kujikawa walk outside of Marukyu wearing a large black beanie that sagged from behind, sunglasses, a black and white striped t-shirt, knee high white shorts, and knee high black boots. We managed to stay out of his line of view and followed him up to this point without him noticing us. Our goal is to find any suspicious characters- who was going to be our most likely killer.

As we waited, I noticed a girl with dark blue hair drove towards us on a scooter with a long boxed container strapped to the back side. It was Aika, from Aiya's.

"Here you go" Aika greeted bluntly as she pulled up, turning off her engine and pulling up the steel door- revealing the several orders the others had made.

"You really do deliver anywhere, don't ya?" Hanamura laughed as Aika tucked a flock of hair behind her ears.

"Leave the bowls when you're finished" she replied bluntly before taking out her iPhone. I walked up to her and tapped her shoulder, catching her attention.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble, Nakamura-san" I apologized. "We just couldn't stop by and eat at the restaurant." Aika blinked at me before looking over her shoulder to Aiya's that was just down the way. Normal people would have gone inside and ate there since they were so close- but since we had to keep an eye on Kujikawa, we couldn't do that. We couldn't have gone inside and asked for take out either, in case he were to start moving. So, our best option was to have it delivered. If it wouldn't have taken so long though we might have just gone for take out.

"It's fine" Aika replied as she looked back at me before looking down at her phone.

"The extra large is mine" Kanji announced as he walked over to the box, grabbing the large bowl from the bottom shelf.

"The tofu ramen is mine" Yukiko announced as she grabbed a bowl on the top shelf of the container.

"I got the roast pork!" Nise cheered as he grabbed a bowl of ramen, nearly knocking back a bowl of rice.

"Hey, watch it Nise! Keep your paws off the steak and rice!" Hanamura warned, quickly grabbing the bowl of rice that was just pushed by Nise's actions. Nise huffed as he turned around and skipped over to the side of the minivan, squatting down.

"Hey, you sure you don't want anything?" Hanamura asked as he looked at me. Just like at the campout (more or less), I decided to not order anything to eat so that I could pay more attention to Kujikawa.

"I'm fine. Besides, someone needs to keep watch over Kujikawa-san while you all eat" I reassured. Hanamura sighed through his nose as he stared at me with concern.

"Okay, well… let me know when you get hungry- I'll give you my share" Hanamura said, smiling. I nodded a thank you, happy that he would even think about sharing his food with me.

"Everybody back!" a familiar voice suddenly announced. "The lunch special is for me." Hanamura and I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Adachi, holding a bento box and a small bowl of miso soup in his hands. With everyone's food picked up, Aika closed her boxed container and drove off- surprisingly not back to Aiya's. Perhaps she has another order- that would explain why she was messing on her iPhone earlier.

"Adachi-san…?" I muttered as I returned my attention to him, blinking in surprise. Just when did he get here?

"Um, did someone order a detective with their lunch…?" Hanamura asked, laughing nervously. Adachi looked down at me and smiled, as if he was rather… relaxed or glad to see me.

"Dojima-san told me to keep an eye on-" Adachi began before flinching and gasping in surprise, some of his miso spilling out. "I-I mean… I heard you all placing an order while doing some important leg work for Dojima! Just some, uh, good timing!" Adachi laughed nervously at his explanation, a soft pink dusting his cheeks.

"This totally blows. Eating with cops is bad for my digestion" Kanji huffed, clearly unappreciative of Adachi's presence.

"Ah c'mon, Kanji! Suck it up!" Nise laughed, catching our attention. "He's a detective on active duty. Not a bad guy to have around." Adachi looked confused as to what Nise was talking about but seemed rather pleased to be appreciated. Since everyone had gotten their food, they began to eat. With nothing to distract me, I walked over to the front side of the minivan, still hiding behind it, and watched Kujikawa continue to read through several magazines. For some reason, he looked rather relaxed and happy as he read through them. I couldn't see the cover of it from here, but based on the other magazines near him, it appears to be… shojo and shonen magazines? Is Kujikawa a fan of manga? I felt my heart pang at the thought, recalling the past when I would actively read manga myself...

"Man, this is totally awesome!" I heard Nise suddenly exclaimed as he slurped up several noodles of his ramen. "Nothing beats a steamy hot meal while on a heart pounding mission~!"

"It would have been better with something more classic- like donuts and milk" Yukiko replied.

"Ooh, that sounds good! Should we buy some if Ryo heads towards Junes?" Nise asked.

"Hell yeah, I'm game!" Kanji agreed, quickly returning to his large meal. I felt the corner of my lips twitch as a warm feeling washed over me. I'm glad that everyone is having fun… Although, it isn't exactly the best moment to be talking about donuts. Even I'll start to get hungry.

"Ah..." I muttered, realizing that Kujikawa was placing down the magazine he was reading, looking satisfied.

"You guys, he's leaving" I pointed out, looking over to them. Hanamura and Nise flinched at my words, looked at each other and nodded; quickly finishing the food in their mouth.

"Sho'kay, holf on..." Kanji replied with his mouth full of food, scarfing down the remainder of his food. Hanamura and Nise on the other hand placed down their bowls and started to walk towards my end. I looked back over to where Ryo was walking in, when I noticed a man wearing a lavender colored backpack with a white tube sticking out the top, a faded yellow elbow-sleeved shirt, a red tie wrapped around his head, and jeanes. He looks… pretty suspicious. I looked over to Hanamura and stopped him by putting my hands to his chest, catching his attention.

"Hanamura, over there…!" I muttereted, pointing at the pole the man was standing behind.

"That him?" Nise asked with a serious expression, stopping next to Hanamura.

"Could be" Hanamura growled. Yukiko and Adachi walked over to us, taking a peek at the man. Yukiko's expression turned sour with range as Adachi raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

Kanji suddenly let out a satisfied sigh, placing his now empty bowl down. "Now that totally hit the spot..." Kanji suddenly jumped to his feet and charged at the man.

"AS FOR YOU-" Kanji began, with a loud voice. "-COME HERE!" Hanamura finished, his voice just as loud- although not as threatening as Kanji. The guys all ran towards the man with a war cry, leaving Adachi, Yukiko, and myself behind. The man jumped in surprise and screamed, dodging a punch from Kanji.

"Come back here, you punk!" Kanji growled as the man suddenly dashed off, past Kujikawa. Hanamura, who had been right next to Kanji, slowed down and stood next to Kujikawa with a grin.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll take care of Ryouta!" Hanamura announced, causing Kujikawa to take a step back from him in slight concern.

"As if!" Nise growled, pulling Hanamura by his ear. Hanamura complained and whimpered in pain as the two ran after Kanji and the man.

"Hi-chan, take care of him!" Yukiko instructed as she and Adachi tried desperately to catch up to the guys.

"Huh? But..." I muttered as I slowed down, stopping next to Kujikawa. I watched the six of them all run towards the highway at a rather impressive speed.

"Slow the hell down, you twerp! So I can pummel your ass!" Kanji shouted, sounding as threatening as ever.

"No, don't do that!" Adachi squeaked, sounding rather exhausted. "I'm a cop! If the suspect get's hurt, it'll be all my fault!"

"Uh… what just happened? I'm confused" Kujikawa suddenly asked, catching my attention. We both looked at each other before I shook my head and looked around the area for another suspicious figure.

"No time to explain, you're not safe here" I replied, looking down the road of the gas station and the bookstore. "This way." I grabbed Kujikawa's wrist and pulled him a little to follow me. He didn't show very much resistance, making me quickly let go of him as the two of us ran. I didn't really have much of a plan- I just had to get him somewhere safe.

* * *

"Hey, slow down already!" I suddenly heard Kujikawa call out. "Calm down… and take a deep breath, will ya?" At Kujikawa's command, I forced my legs to slow down- taking in the scenery around us.

"Oh..." I muttered to myself while panting. Without even realizing it, I had dragged Kujikawa all the way out to the outside of Junes. We had been running for at least ten minutes, taking shortcuts and any other paths that didn't involve running into too many people. I turned around to face Kujikawa as he approached me, panting.

"Man… you sure can run. I almost lost you a few times there" Kujikawa panted as he rubbed his chin with his arm. "You haven't exactly told me why we're running either. What's going on?" I looked around the area to make sure that no one was listening on us.

When the coast was clear, I cupped my mouth with my left hand and whispered, "That man earlier- the one my friends chased down… We thought he was the recent killer and your kidnapper."

"Killer… kidnapper?" Kujikawa repeated softly, his eyebrows raising slightly in surprise.

"We knew that you were next and we wanted to prevent that. So we followed you around for a little bit..." I explained. Kujikawa blinked a few times in surprise before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Huh..." he muttered, as if in thought. "That's nice of you guys and all, but… you don't have to push yourself, you know?" I blinked in surprise at his words, feeling my sweat begin to roll down my jaw.

"Wh… What do you mean?" I asked, a little taken back. Kujikawa removed his sunglasses and leaned towards me, grabbing my chin so that I wouldn't back away. He stared at my eyes for a moment, his light brown ones making me feel relaxed, before shifting his gaze to other parts of my face.

After a moment of him staring at me, Kujikawa stood up and nodded to himself, putting on his sunglasses and muttered "Yeah, thought so… You've been lacking sleep lately, haven't you?"

"I… how?" was all that I could manage due to shock, blinking rapidly. Kujikawa smiled a little and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I can tell. I'm Ryouta the Pop Idol, remember? Sleep deprivation was my middle name- literally booked with activities until 4 AM the next day" Kujikawa joked, letting out a short exhausted laugh. "I don't know if you're suffering from hypoglycamia or just sleep deprivation in general, but it'd probably be a good idea to get something for you to munch on- preferably with sugar and/or caffeine."

Before I could even process what Kujikawa was saying, he suddenly turned around and walked over to Junes. I tried to follow him, but he told me to stay where I was since it wouldn't take long. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I obediently waited for him. About four or five minutes later, Kujikawa returned with a small bag.

"Here. I got you some fruit milk and melon bread" Kujikawa explained as he pulled out a canned drink and melon bread. I let out a small sigh as I grabbed the refreshments from him, my face growing even hotter.

"Sorry for the trouble..." I apologized. Kujikawa shook his head as he pulled out a water bottle, twisting off the cap.

"Nah, it's cool" Kujikawa reassured before taking a sip. I followed his actions and opened up my fruit milk, taking a sip. It had been a while since I've had such a childish drink. The fruity flavors with the milk texture was nostalgic… and pretty refreshing.

"This is rather embarrassing… I was supposed to watch over you and make sure you get out of harm's way" I sighed after savoring the nostalgic flavor.

"And yet here I am- buying you drinks" Kujikawa joked, causing my face to heat up. "Not exactly the ideal date, but certainly not the worst I've had yet." I blinked in surprise and looked over to him in confusion.

"Date?" I repeated. "It's June 23rd. What's so ideal about that?" Kujikawa stared at me for a minute with his water bottle in his mouth.

"Pft!" Kujikawa laughed, turning away as he desperately tried to hide his laughter. "Haha, you're funny! I don't know if you were trying to make me laugh or if you were serious about that… but thanks. I was actually having a rather bad day before you came along and said _that_." I felt myself become a bit more relaxed as Kujikawa wiped away a tear from laughing, his lips pressed together to hide a smile.

"I'm glad that I was able to cheer you up… I guess" I replied. I was still a little bit confused, but Kujikawa seems happy so I don't mind. Suddenly, voices started to come our way, tell ming that people were nearby. It only made sense- we were at Junes after all.

"We should keep moving. I don't think it'll be safe for you until my friends tell me it is" I instructed, looking right and left to see where we could go.

"Well then..." Kujikawa hummed, catching my attention. "Hey, can you show me the way to Yasogami High? You don't have to take me all the way there, I just need to know where it is." I blinked in surprise by his request before nodding. I almost forgot that Kujikawa was around the same age as me. He sounds so much more mature and seems to have a great knowledge on medicine, I almost thought that he was a college student.

"Sure, it's a quiet place. Let's go" I replied before heading towards the general direction. This time, I plan on simply _walking_ there.

* * *

Kujikawa and I walked in silence as he took in the rural town, enraptured by it's calming presence. We had thrown away our food and drinks once they were finished, commenting on how there was a certain flavor to it that made is more unique and tasty than the other times we've had it.

We had walked towards the school for about thirty five minutes before reaching the Samegawa Flood Plains. The sun was starting to set, making the green tree's of summer have a nice tint of gold. The river itself was rather nice as well, glistening under the sun's rays.

"This place is nice… A lot quieter than over at the city" Kujikawa commented, letting out a relaxed sigh.

"I know what you mean" I agreed with a nod.

"Hm? You form the city too?" Kujikawa asked with a surprised tone. I looked over to him and nodded.  
"Yeah. And that boy earlier, the one who seems to idol you with the red headphones, is also from the city" I explained.

"Oh, I see. That's pretty cool- it'd be kinda like the three amigo's then" Kujikawa commented, sounding amused. I blinked in surprise.

"You plan on hanging out with us?" I asked, wanting to make sure that's what he meant.

"Well, I'm not too sure yet about your ladies man friend..." Kujikawa began, half-jokingly. "But I'm liking you so far." He looked at me and grinned. I felt the corners of my lip twitch at his smile, a warm feeling washing over me.

"I see. The same goes for me" I commented, causing him to let out a laugh.

"Heh, try not to fall for me, okay?" he joked. I blinked in surprise and confusion at his statement.

"Fall?" I repeated, quizzically. "You're pretty tall, I don't think I can fall on you… unless you were sitting down or lying on the ground." Kujikawa looked at me in surprise once again before letting out a laugh, quickly suppressing it like earlier. I felt my face heat up slightly in embarrassment, thinking I had said something wrong.

"Ah, man..." Kujikawa sighed as he covered his mouth with his left hand. "I don't know if you're cute or just dumb." My face heated up even more as I looked away.

"I'd prefer dumb" I muttered.

"Huh? Why not cute?" Kujikawa asked as he leaned over to me. I turned my head even more to hide my red face.

"B-Because cute is embarrassing..." I stuttered shyly.

"Aw, now I'm going for cute~!" Kujikawa cooed, poking my left cheek. I pressed my lips together and gently swatted his hand away.

"P-Please don't tease me, Kujikawa-san" I sighed, trying to cool myself down.

"Haha, sorry I couldn't help it- Huh?" Kujikawa laughed before stopping himself. He stopped walking, causing me to look at him in confusion and stop as well. "Wait, did you… Did you just call me… 'Kujikawa-san'?"

"Um… yes? Is that a problem?" I asked as I blinked.  
"Well, no not really… But I thought that you'd call me 'Ryo' or 'Ryouta'- like those two guys from yesterday" Kujikawa explained as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, they know you a bit more than I do… and might be lacking in manners" I replied. "Since I don't know you all too well, I want to stick to the rules of name calling." Kujikawa stared at me with wide eyes, shocked.

"'Don't know you all too well', huh…?" he repeated with a sigh, looking a bit sad. "Heh. Sounds about right." I tilted my head slightly in confusion, wondering what he meant. Kujikawa shook his head when he noticed my stare, giving me a strained smile.

"Sorry, it's nothing. So, what's this place?" Kujikawa asked, changing the subject.

"Ah, this is the Samegawa Flood Plains" I replied. I was a bit reluctant in changing the subject- since I want to know more about him- but I didn't want to make him uncomfortable. "If you keep going straight, you'll find a hill where Yasogami High will be." Kujikawa hummed in reply, taking note of my directions. The two of us continued walking again, with him taking the lead, when I noticed a familiar old woman standing by the side of the road- looking out into the river.

"Oh..." I muttered, taking note of her presence. The old woman seemed to have noticed me and looked my way, her expression lighting up at the sight of me.

"Oh, you're that girl from yesterday…!" the old woman greeted, smiling warmly. She looked up and noticed Kujikawa, who nodded hello to her. "My, you're a really popular one aren't you? Yesterday it was two boys, and now it's a handsome one." I blinked in confusion as I looked over to Kujikawa, who seemed a bit shocked- but also amused.

"The two from yesterday were my friends" I explained, looking back at the old woman. "I'm just keeping this one busy from… buying tofu?" I heard Kujikawa stifle a laugh, causing my face to heat up.

"Oh, speaking of tofu- that idol boy named Ryo..." the old woman began. "Is it true he's the boy from Marukyu Tofu?" I glanced over to Kujikawa who nodded, looking bored.

"I think so" he replied bluntly. He looked… almost a little mean looking.

"Well, well! Who knew something like that would come outta that little shop. I hear all kinds of things about him from his grandmother. We go way back!" the old woman laughed, recalling of the past. Kujikawa's face softened at the mention of his grandmother, looking much kinder than before. I turned my attention back to the old woman and lifted my left foot up, quickly retrieving the key I had stuffed in it earlier.

"Ma'am, about that old key..." I began, as I presented it to her. "It might not be the one you were looking for, but I received this. I think it's an antique."

"Ah…!" the old woman gasped, looking at the key in great interest. After staring at it for a moment, she pressed her lips together and smiled at me in a way that reeked guilt.

"I've gotta be honest with you, dear… I've already opened it. You know how I mentioned my daughter yesterday? Well, I spoke to her, and… we found the key together" the old woman explained.

"I see… That's good to hear, though. You were able to strengthen your relationship with her" I replied, lowering my hands to my side.

"Haha, what a strange way of putting it… But yes, you're right" the old woman laughed warmly. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you we opened it. The fact that you were looking for one was quite honorable and flattering, I just couldn't tell you."

"Please, think nothing of it" I replied as I shook my head. "Oh, but… what should I do with this key?"

"Why don't you keep it, dear. Think of it as another part of my gift" the old woman reassured. I nodded in obedience and stuffed the key back into my pocket. When I stood back up again, the old woman continued, "Now, how would you like a 'secret lesson?' Don't worry, it's free of charge."

"'Secret lesson'?" I repeated, tilting my head slightly.

"What kind of lesson is that?" Kujikawa asked, becoming interested.

"Ohoho, this brings back fond memories..." the old woman laughed, not really answering our questions. "Now listen up, young man- this mainly concerns you. But you should still listen as well, dear."

"Huh? Me? I didn't do anything..." Kujikawa pointed out, confused.

"That doesn't matter" the old woman said dismissively. "Now listen up. If you want to get close to a girl, the first thing to know is that you can't ruffle her feathers. You have to keep telling her exactly what it is she wants to hear. That's a surefire way to win her heart! And when the timing it just right, that's when you confess your love to her! The same can be said for men. But you'll be rejected if you haven't caught her eye before that. You'll be stuck being friends forever if you can't win her attention somehow. Basically, it all comes down to your actions that'll sway them from being lovers or just plain friends." "Well, that's about all I can tell you… Good luck, young man" the old woman laughed before walking off.

"Uh, hey! Just what are you suggesting-" Kujikawa called out. But once the old woman had left the Flood Plains, he hummed while he scratched the back of his head. "...That was weird." I nodded slowly in agreement, letting out a sigh. There was no doubt that my face was beat red from embarrassment. Why would she give me tips like that?

3rd POV

After a moment of awkward silence between Ryo and Hitomi, Ryo let out a sigh and walked towards the sloping side of the river.

"So anyway… Is it safe here? You know, from the killer?" Ryo asked, half heartedly. He wasn't really sure if Hitomi was telling the truth about him being a target of the recent serial killer he has heard about. He was sure that the man earlier was nothing more than a stalker.

"It should be," Hitomi replied as she looked around. "We can see if someone's coming from any direction here, anyways."

"I'm used to this you know… Dealing with stalkers" Ryo sighed as he carefully walked down the slope of the hill. Hitomi carefully followed behind him.

"Yeah, but… Wouldn't it be better that you weren't?" Hitomi asked, concerned about what Ryo considered as normal.

"I guess…" Ryo replied weakly. He looked down, suppressing an exhausted sigh when he noticed a stack of magazines in the grass. He made a face when he noticed that the magazine, a gravure magazine, had his photograph on the cover. Ryo knelt down and sat down next to is, picking up the magazine and flipping it open to a random page. He looked through the magazine, taking in every photograph of himself in various swimsuits and work uniforms- all of which that had a smile. He let out that exhausted sigh he tried to keep in and ripped out a page from the magazine. He was so sick of that smiling face of his... Ryo started folding it into a paper plane, his eyes narrowed in disgust. Hitomi watched over Ryo, noticing how tired he seemed over the photographs in the magazine.

"Is something wrong?" Hitomi asked, confused as to why he would rip up such nice photographs of himself.

"The boy that everyone makes such a big fuss over isn't the real me…" Ryo muttered, his brown eyes starting to glisten with tears. "Ryouta, huh? What a joke..."

Hitomi decided to sit down by Ryo's side and at least provide some support to the former idol.

"He's just a another packaged deal- a fictional character sold to the public," Ryo growled weakly before throwing the paper plane he had made. The paper plane glided through the air for a short distance before falling onto the ground- just before hitting the rocks of the river.

"No one sees the real me… well, except maybe _you_ " Ryo muttered, glancing over to the silver haired girl next to him.

She was so… _mysterious_ to him. Hitomi was the first girl who he had ever met that had respectfully called him by his last name upon meeting. Everyone else was able to immediately identify him as "Ryo-kun" or "Ryouta". _No one_ had called him "Kujikawa-san" in such a long time… it was rather refreshing. The way that he is right now- exhausted and stressed- it may not be how he really acts; but it's the most real he has ever been with himself. And the only one who has really seen this side of him was this short, unique silver haired and silver eyes girl. The best part about her seemed to be that she didn't even knew who "Ryouta the Pop Idol" was before her friends had pointed it out.

Hitomi blinked when Ryo's attention was suddenly focused on her.

"You really don't know Ryouta, huh?" Ryo asked wistfully.

"I'm sorry, but no…" Hitomi replied as she shook her head. The most Hitomi had seen in terms of Ryo's idol career was his Quelorie Magic commercial.

"All you have now is the real me," Ryo began as he looked out into the riverbank. "The boy who knows a lot in the medical field and knows a ton of information on tofu…that's definitely me and not Ryouta. The Ryouta that everyone knows is someone who likes to smile at the camera and be an actor."

Ryo let out another sigh, unable to contain it. The sunset's reflection on the river created a rather dazzling scene. Ryo felt himself relax as he continued to stare. He was completely unaware that Hitomi had torn a page out of the gravure magazine until Hitomi had tapped on her shoulder and showed her an origami crane.

"Whoa, impressive!" Ryo gasped, rather surprised. He thought that the only person who still made origami was his grandmother or people in traditional schools. Seeing the origami crane made him want to make one as well… Ryo tore out another page from the gravure magazine and hastily folded a crane. He held it out to Hitomi when it was finished. Unlike Hitomi's neatly folded crane, Ryo's was rather sloppy.

"You suck," Hitomi commented, bluntly- unaware of what she was even saying.

"Hey, you don't have to be so blunt about it" Ryo said with a pout.

"Ah, s-sorry…" Hitomi apologized quickly. Ryo huffed in determination and tore out another page. He began to fold another crane, less hastily as the first one. This time, the origami crane looked neater than the previous one.

"Look! I can do it if I try!" Ryo chuckled, feeling rather proud.

Of course, Hitomi then placed a tiny origami crane next to the crane Ryo had folded. Whether it be that Hitomi was actually the competitive type or she just so happened to make another one by the time Ryo had finished, he wasn't sure. Ryo stared at the tiny crane in awe before letting out a genuine laugh.

"Haha, that's really cute" he chuckled. Hitomi gasped at Ryo's chuckle, blinking rapidly in surprise.

"Kujikawa-san, you laughed" Hitomi pointed out, leaning over to him- causing Ryo to stop laughing and look at the silver haired girl in surprise. As he stared at Hitomi's silver eyes, he found himself slowly getting sucked in by their genuine surprise. Despite Hitomi's blank expression, her eyes and tone of voice have certainly shown emotions. One would think that her face was frozen this way...

"You know, you have really nice eyes" Ryo ended up muttering, unaware of his words. Hitomi blushed at Ryo's boldness and backed away from him, shyly.

"Huh…? What brought this on all, of a sudden?" she asked, controlling herself to not stutter.

"Even though you have the same blank expression on all the time, you're eyes are filled with life" Ryo explained, smiling a little. "But they're complicated but simple at the same time- like a book I can read through and always get thrown off course by a surprise." Hitomi blinked rapidly in surprise at Ryo's explanation, no longer blushing as she was more intrigued than embarrassed now.

"Wow, you sound like you know what you're saying" Hitomi pointed out. Ryo raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Well yeah- of course I do" Ryo replied with a chuckle. He then blinked in realization and blushed a little, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh- sorry, I didn't even introduce myself. And I don't know your name either." Realizing how informal their conversation has been going, Hitomi also blushed and glanced over to the river.

"Um, it's Hitomi. Hitomi Narukami" Hitomi replied, glancing back at Ryo.

"And I'm Ryo Kujikawa" Ryo greeted, smiling slightly.

"Oh yeah, I think I heard about that on the news once… and my friends told me" Hitomi pointed out, recalling where she first heard Ryo's name. Ryo felt himself smile at her words, his stress and exhaustion fleeting away.

"Anyways, how can you read emotions just by staring into people's eyes?" Hitomi suddenly asked, intrigued by Ryo's skills. Ryo laughed a little as he fell backwards, lying down on the soft grass.

"Well, when you're in the showbiz business- you pick up a few tricks after performing for an audience time and time again" Ryo began, not seeming to mind talking about his past career like the previous times. "For me- it's all about the eyes. If I have all eyes on me, then that means I'm doing a good job or I've earned their attention and the attention won't bother me when I'm performing. But if I don't have all eyes on me or they look away, then I'm doing bad and the atmosphere of fun becomes serious." Hitomi hummed softly as she nodded, taking in his explanation.

"'Cause of that, I've learned how to read basic emotions through people's eyes" Ryo pointed out as he looked at Hitomi's eyes, easily reading them as intrigued. It wasn't every day that he would meet someone who was interested in his little ability. He's told a few people already, but most of their reactions was caution or slight discomfort.

"That's… really cool, actually. To have such a skill at hand..." Hitomi complimented before stopping. Ryo blinked in surprise as he noticed a hint of sadness and pain in Hitomi's eyes before she looked away from him. "...This is the first time anyone has ever commented about my eyes before." Feeling as though he had said something extremely wrong, Ryo's body unconsciously sat up and grabbed Hitomi by the shoulder- her pain and sadness being replaced with surprise.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories!" Ryo quickly apologized.

"Huh?" Hitomi asked, blinking. Staring into Hitomi's eyes, Ryo's grip on her shoulder slowly loosen as the fear he had felt in his heart slowly disappears.

"...Just now, I saw sadness and pain in your eyes… I can't really explain it, but I got worried" Ryo explained with a sigh. "Something happened right? Sorry, I didn't know it would trigger something bad." Hitomi blinked in surprise at Ryo's observation before shaking her head and stared out at the river.

"It's fine, don't worry too much about it. It's all in the past anyways" Hitomi claimed, her voice vacant. Ryo flinched at Hitomi's words and looked at her, the fear he had felt earlier returning to him. Perhaps it was because Hitomi was the only one he felt had truly known the real him, he felt scared of losing her- of making her upset.

"...You say that but you don't really mean-" Ryo began.

"Ryo-kun" a mysterious, older voice interrupted, causing Hitomi and Ryo to flinch and look over their shoulders. There stood a man in his late thirties with a clean haircut, making him seem a bit younger. His tired but fierce brown eyes and matching brown hair seem to shout city-folk. It was Ryo's former manager.

"Inoue-san..." Ryo muttered as he stood up, turning towards the man. "What brought you all the way out here? How did you even find me?" Inoue stood firm at the top of the hill, seeming unaffected by Ryo's exhausted and annoyed tone.

"How I found you isn't important. But, as your manager, I just can't stand by and let you do this" Inoue explained.

"Tch- never quit do you?" Ryo growled, his anger and annoyance building. "I'm not some silly pop star anymore! I'm not some helpless… _doll_ that needs you to manage his life! So why don't you go and piss off!" Hitomi stared at Ryo in slight surprise and shock, unused to hearing the annoyed tone in his voice. Of course, the same tone was used when they first met- so she wasn't _entirely_ surprised. It just shocked her.

There was a moment of silence between the two men as they stared each other down.

"...Listen," Inoue began, letting out a sigh. "About that big movie you were going to be staring in-"

"Are you trying to get me riled up thinking it'll change my mind? 'Cause it wont, you know! Just leave me alone already!" Ryo snapped, interrupting Inoue.

"They gave your role away. They gave it to Kaoru-kun" Inoue said bluntly, seeming fed up with Ryo's cold and harsh words. Ryo gasped softly in shock as a soft breeze blew over the three.

"Kaoru… Kaoru Mashita?" Ryo asked. He couldn't believe it… It had _literally_ been a few days since he left on his hiatus. Ryo had expected the company to be at a loss for another _month_ at least! But no- they replaced him within a few _days_. Could it be that the "famous" Ryouta wasn't so famous after all…? Was he really just some fictional character sold to the public?

 _Why…?_ Ryou thought as his hands tightened up into fists.

"...It looks like you finally go your wish" Inoue began, making sure to let the news sink into Ryo. "I'm going back to manage Kaoru-kun the best I can. You're on your own now." Ryo gasped- louder this time- as he looked up, just in time to see Inoue leave without even looking back at his former star. Something in Ryo's heart broke as he watched Inoue leave from his sight. Something _big_. But he couldn't figure out what had broke. After all, he was supposed to be happy. He was _free_. He no longer had the burden of carrying the name of "Ryouta". So why does it hurt…?

The wind blew over Hitomi and Ryo as the two remained silent by the recent events. Wanting to comfort the audibly shaken idol, Hitomi quietly stood up and stood next to Ryo.

"...Are you alright?" Hitomi asked softly, causing Ryo to flinch. She knew that he was paying attention to her, even though he wasn't facing her.

With a nervous sigh, Hitomi asked "I know it isn't really my place, but… are you really sure you want this hiatus?" Ryo flinched in surprise at Hitomi's words and gritted his teeth with a threatening growl.

"AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" Ryo roared, furious. Hitomi jumped at Ryo's loud voice and stumbled backwards, falling on her butt. Ryo took no pity of the girl as he stomped a foot down next to Hitomi's body, causing her to stiffen.

"You don't know anything about me- you didn't even know my _name_ until a little while ago!" Ryo snapped. Hitomi blinked rapidly in surprise and fear, feeling tears prickling her eyes for some reason. Ryo gritted his teeth as he stared at the shaken girl, something trying to calm him down.

But how could he? It was like Hitomi had betrayed him asking that question. For all he knew, everything could have been an _act_ \- trying to get an answer out of him. Everything… _everything_ was a lie…!

"Tch… you're the same. You're exactly like everyone else" Ryo huffed, tears unconsciously streaming from his face. He was furious and heartbroken... Everything that he had thought was for his sake- for the _real_ Ryo- seemed to have been a lie. First he was replaced by a new actor and then he was betrayed by Hitomi- the first person he thought in a while he could trust. "I can't believe I even _thought_ about trusting you..." Hitomi flinched in surprise at Ryo's words as his voice cracked before suddenly running up the hill and back to his home. Hitomi felt something pang her heart as she watched the copper haired boy leave, her vision becoming blurry.

"Kujikawa-san..." Hitomi muttered, completely aware that he wouldn't be able to hear him.

She didn't mean to be a pest to him- she just wanted to know why he would suddenly leave the show business. Ryo had to have joined for his own reasons, of his own free will. That meant that he _enjoyed_ doing what he did at some point. And since he enjoyed doing what he did, that part of him- the one that smiles at the camera- is also a part of the "real" Ryo. He was just too blind with his feelings of annoyance to see it.

Hitomi pressed her lips together in sadness as she took a deep breath through her nose. Suddenly, Hitomi felt her ankle vibrate. Startled, Hitomi quickly bent forward and grabbed the cause of the vibration- her iPhone. It was a message from Yosuke.

 _Yo, where are you guys? The killer was caught, so it's safe for you guys to come back now. Drop off Ryo if you want at his place then stop by Junes to pick up your bag. If you're not here in 10 min., we're gonna come find you!_

Hitomi got up to her feet as she read the message, her blurry vision melting away as she blinked a few times. Letting out a sigh, Hitomi began to jog back to Junes where everyone was waiting for her.

* * *

 _Evening..._

It was around 11:59 in the evening as Hitomi sat on her blue couch. Unlike all the previous nights where she had waited for midnight to strike, it almost seemed as if time had fast forward for her in her sorrow. She was so concerned about Ryo and the conversations they had. If Ryo hadn't snapped at her like that and she had explained her reasoning for asking such a sensitive question, would this never have happen? Her sadness and over masking guilt that didn't want to go away? It was the first time during her stay here in Inaba that she had been so upset and guilty at something that she was too upset to talk. The others were even able to tell that something was wrong.

When Hitomi had met up with everyone at Junes, they knew that something had happened. Yosuke, Nise, and Kanji all became mad- thinking that Ryo had done something to her. But Yukiko was able to tell that it wasn't something _Ryo_ had done- it was something that _Hitomi_ had done and was sulking because of it. Hitomi could only go through the motions of grabbing her things instead of answering or confirming her friends questions and theories. Noticing how upset Hitomi was, the others became silent as well and secretly walked Hitomi home- making sure to scare off anyone who got close to her. And of course, Hitomi never noticed this.

Hitomi let out a long sigh as she turned her attention to the TV, patiently for the clock to strike twelve. Since the killer had been caught, Hitomi didn't really expect the midnight channel to some on- no one could throw Ryo inside anyways.

However, much to Hitomi's surprise, the Midnight Channel had flickered on at the strike of midnight- right on schedule. Hitomi jumped to her feet in shock and leaned in closer to the television. Someone had appeared on the television screen and the image was extremely vivid. Though, what Hitomi could have done without was the close up of what appeared to be a boy's butt…

 **" _I'm a spring flower blooming into a high school idol..._ _"_ ** a familiar, silky smooth voice cooed.

Hitomi's eyes widened when she saw the boy on television. "Kujikawa...san?"

 **" _That's right! It's me- Ryouta!"_ ** Ryo greeted with a wink and smile, much like the Quelorie Magic commercials. Behind him, Hitomi could see that he was sitting in a dimmed room, the spot light shining down on him. The camera suddenly focused on Ryo's thighs and slowly panned up to his face, his positioning rather… _sexual_ for he was sprawled out on a couch.

 ** _"Good evening, my lovelies~"_ ** Ryo cooed, sounding seductive. It seemed rather jarring for Hitomi to see Ryo act this way. She was used to seeing Ryo be calm and rather soft-spoken, but then again, there was still much she didn't know about the boy. Or, more specifically, Hitomi wasn't aware of Ryo's personality as _Ryouta_. She thought that Ryouta was more of a cheerful and innocent kind of boy, not… _this_.

 **" _And this time..."_ ** Ryo began as he smiled bashfully, tilting his head to the left, giving the camera a good view of his toned but undefined neck. This reminded Hitomi that Ryo was wearing a transparent dress shirt that covered his nipples and abs while wearing a black speedo. **" _I'm gonna seek out the extreme challenge!_ " **Ryo suddenly laughed as he lifted up his left foot, revealing a boy's high school uniform.

 ** _"Does everybody know what time it is? Showtime, haha!_ " **Ryo laughed, answering the question he had asked. Hitomi couldn't help but wonder where he was going with this... **" _But show what, you ask?_ " **Hitomi felt a cold shiver crawl down her back. It almost seemed as if he could see her and was reading her mind.

 **" _Hmhmhm…_ " **Ryo thought as he placed his pointer fingers to his lips. Glancing over to the camera, he smirked and slowly cooed, " ** _E-very-thing..._** _"_ Hitomi didn't like the tone in which Ryo said that, her face becoming a whole new definition of red. Suddenly, words appeared next to Ryo as he seductively cupped his left cheek, closing his left eye. The words read: 'Ryouta! Show it! The Daring Challenge! Peel A Layer Off That Green Fruit! It's A Young Man At His Best And Tastiest!' Ryo laughed and playfully pushed the camera back, as if it was a lover getting too close during a date, the words disappearing.

 **" _Haha, I bet I got you riled up now! Is this too hot for TV?!_ " **Ryo laughed. He smiled widely as he held his head with one hand and the other slowly sliding down his transparent dress shirt.

 ** _"I bet you all want a little peek at what's underneath here. And I'm not the kind of boy who would disappoint his fans- so I'm gonna go all the way and strip for you! Heh, so stay tuned~!"_** Ryo winked at the camera as he licked his lips, at which a small flurry of stars flashed on screen- acting like a boarder. The television screen went black after that.

Hitomi stood in silence as she stared at her television, her heart racing far too fast for her to handle and her face was uncomfortably hot. That was definitely Ryo who she saw on the screen…

 _But why was he even there? Didn't the others catch the killer?_ Hitomi thought, confused as to what she had seen.

Suddenly, Hitomi's iPhone began to ring. Fanning herself, she walked over to her dresser where her iPhone was being charged and answered the call with a slightly flustered, "Hanamura".

" _Hey, d-did you see Ryouta on TV?! "_ Yosuke asked, sounding rather uncomfortable and yet excited. _" H-He said strip right? I wasn't just hearing things?!_"

"He did" Hitomi replied bluntly, fanning herself.

 _" For real?! Is it me, or are these shows getting crazier and crazier?!_" Yosuke asked, sounding a bit more excited than he really should.

"Calm down," Hitomi said firmly, mentally agreeing with him on the craziness of the show.

" _Oh, sorry- y-you're right "_ Yosuke replied, taking in a deep breath. " _I'm starting to get the hang of this… His Shadow self is probably doing whatever it wants again._ "

"Yeah… But I thought you guys caught the killer. Why is Kujikawa-san even in there?" Hitomi asked, glancing over to the television.

" _I thought we did too! Either that detective from earlier let him escape or we nabbed the wrong guy_ " Yosuke sighed. " _Either way, we couldn't prevent the kidnapping this time either… even when we knew who the target would be. "_

" _I'm gonna be so pissed if that detective did accidentally let him escape "_ Yosuke growled, sounding annoyed. He let out a sigh and continued, _" I guess we'll have to do everything ourselves… Oh, how are you feeling by the way?_"

"Huh?" Hitomi asked as she blinked in surprise.

" _Well, y'know- earlier you were so down you didn't even talk to any of us_ " Yosuke began, sounding a little embarrassed. " _I was really worried, you know. The least you can do is tell me what's up!_ "

"Ah… I'm sorry, Hanamura" Hitomi apologized, her earlier stress flowing away. She truly did feel relaxed and safe around Yosuke… simply hearing his concerned words was enough to make her at ease. And she still had _no_ idea why. It could mainly be due to the fact that he was her first _real_ friend in the rural town… and in general.

"...Thank you" Hitomi whispered, closing her eyes.

 **"** _N-No problem. Uh, anyways I'll see you tomorrow. We're gonna have to come up with a plan about what we're doing tomorrow_ ** _"_ ** Yosuke replied, flustered, before hanging up the phone. Hitomi turned off her iPhone and reconnected it to her charger. She glanced over to the TV and pressed her lips together. She will save Ryo… and show him just who the "real" Ryo- the one he has been looking for- really is.


	16. Shadow Ryo Kujikawa and Shadow Berry

A/N: So- before you start reading- please be warned that Ryo's battle isn't exactly… _safe_. There are some adult suggested themes, so please be careful. I want to apologize now if you continue to read and get triggered. Keep in mind that the Persona series- especially Persona 4- isn't exactly meant for children.

* * *

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room" the man with the long nose, known as Igor, greeted. The platinum-blonde haired woman next to him, known as Margaret, looked down at her lap; opening the old book that laid on top of it.

"The destiny that lies before you next is..." Margaret began, her words slowly trailing off as all the cards that represented Hitomi's friends easily arises from the blank pages, forming a circle in front of the platinum-blonde haired woman.

"Oh my!" Margaret gasped. Hitomi blinked in confusion and slight surprise at Margaret's gasp, wondering what the cards were telling her.

Margaret looked over to Hitomi and began, "Listen my guest, be warned: a trial like no other awaits. You will undergo a horrible ordeal. It's so bad that the strength of all the arcana you have... may not be able to stop the power in your path."

Hitomi blinked rapidly in surprise at this information. She knows that Ryo is in the television- even though the killer was _supposedly_ captured- and would have to go and save him. It would be just like all the other times, right? What would be so different about this one…? Hitomi was confused and slowly becoming worried.

Even Igor, the man who doesn't really say or do much of anything during Hitomi's visits, glanced over to his assistant for a mere second. Hitomi was his guest- and it was his duty to make sure she goes down in the right path. For her to be faced with an ordeal supposedly so big than all the others even made _him_ slightly concerned. _Slightly_. He had faith in his unique guest- that she will overcome it and soon accept the truth behind her past. The cards before Margaret all descended back into the blank pages, which was closed shortly after.

"Your journey lies ahead… I shall say a prayer while you are gone, and await your return" Margaret said with a firm nod.

"Until we meet again," Igor began, catching Hitomi's attention, "...Take care." Hitomi stared at the duo as they both closed their eyes and lowered their heads. She could tell that they had faith in her… and for some reason, that made her really confident. Hitomi felt the corners of her lips twitch and slowly closed her eyes as her vision began to blur- darkness engulfing the room.

* * *

 _Friday, June 24th | Morning…_

Hitomi's POV

Nise and I talked about the Midnight Channel as we walked towards class. We had bumped into each other at Marukyu, both of us wanting to make sure that Kujikawa was really gone. And he is. The two of us were confused by how this could have happened. Nise told me that he, Kanji, and Hanamura all stopped him and saw him walk away in handcuffs by Adachi. But he also told me that the person they caught was rather weak and most likely nothing more than a fan-boy. I told him what the plan that Hanamura and I agreed on, to which he said would tell Kanji and Yukiko later as we walked up the stairs to our level.

"Oh hey! Hitomi-chan, Nise-kun; over here!" a familiar voice called out, catching our attention. Over by the circular railing overlooking the first floor is Kou and Chou.

"Kou-chan, and Chou-chan too. Good morning" I greeted as Nise and I approached them.

"This is rare- it's not everyday that we bump into you guys first thing. Kinda weird since our classes aren't that far away from each other" Nise pointed out with a smile.

"Well, that's mostly Nagase's fault" Kou laughed. Chou looked over at Kou and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? How?" Chou asked, confused. Kou sighed and crossed her arms below her chest, jerking her head to the sides in a sassy way.

"You always want to do some laps around the track and then practice your kicking before school starts. Once we're done, we have to take a shower and then the warning bell rings!" Kou huffed, playfully.

"Practice makes perfect, girl. If I can't be the best in soccer, what's the use?" Chou said simply, shrugging her shoulders. Kou scoffed playfully, rolling her eyes as she uncrossed her eyes.

"Uh- you can always find a boyfriend, you know!" Kou pointed out, resting her right elbow on Chou's left shoulder.

"You know I'm not into that rubbish. Who needs a man to hold when you have balls to play with?" Chou argued, pushing Kou off her. Kou giggled at Chou's words as Chou flinched, realizing what she had just said. Nise laughed violently at Chou's words, to the point where he began to cough. I patted his back to help him breath again.

"Shut up, Nise! I swear, you're _so_ immature!" Chou snapped, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Haha, sorry- but it's not my fault! You gotta admit you didn't mean to say it like _that_ " Nise laughed, struggling to get the words out. Chou growled and grabbed Nise by the neck, wrapping an arm around him in a choking hold. However, Nise- being stronger and taller than her- simply laughed at Chou's failing attempts.

"Kou-chan, how's the team doing?" I asked, turning my attention to Kou. Kou, who was smiling at the sight of Chou and Nise, looked over to me and blinked.

"Oh, we're doing awesome!" Kou replied, cheerfully. "Thanks to those three new girls and your help last time, the team has become _way_ better than before and even started showing up for each of our practices! I think we'll even be able to get some more games!"

"And Ebihara-san?" I asked. Kou let out a short sigh, tugging on her left ponytail.

"Well, he's definitely trying- I'll give him that much" Kou began with a weak laugh. "Compared to the beginning of the year, he comes to our meets and stuff and even does most of the cleaning. Although… he's pretty clumsy. He's dropping the basketballs during clean up and often ends up spewing out the wrong orders during practice. It's a pretty big improvement, though. _Way_ better than doing nothing."

"Wow, that's good to hear. I'm glad he's doing his job" I replied, impressed. I'm glad that he has been keeping his word and have been trying to become a better manager for the team. Hopefully, in the end he'll be able to gain her attention- like that old woman had told me.

"Hey, can we change the subject?" Nise suddenly requested, popping his face in between Kou and I with a bored look. I looked over to where he and Chou were "fighting" at and saw Chou out of breath, hands on her knees while squatting. I gave her a thumbs up sign for effort, in which she responded with a shrug.

"Huh? Why?" Kou asked as I turned my attention back over to her and Nise, noticing that Kou was blushing a little.

"No reason- I just don't like talking about that guy" Nise replied bluntly. Kou smiled at this as I blinked in surprise. Could it be that he really is starting to develop feelings for Kou…?

"Hey Nise, check this out! It's about that movie you adore" a male classmate suddenly called out, popping their head out of our classroom. Nise blinked in surprise as he blushed a little, causing a warm feeling to wash over me as the corners of my lips twitch. It looks as if he's starting to get attention without the help of Yukiko.

"Coming!" Nise called back, looking excited. He turned to Kou and me while saying, "Narukami-chan, I'll see you in class. See you later Chou-chan, Kou-chan!" Kou said goodbye happily while Chou sighed in frustration and I nodded in reply. Chou stood up once she regained her strength and breath and wobbled over to us, resting her chin on my shoulder. Once Nise had ran into the classroom, completely out of earshot- Kou turned to face Chou and I and squealed.

"Did you see that, guys?!" Kou squealed. Chou and I glanced at each other in surprise before back at Kou.

"Uh… what?" Chou asked on behalf of both of us. Kou let out another squeal- sounding a bit like a pig, to be honest- as she cupped her face.

"He was totally jealous that I was talking about another guy!" Kou began, her face glowing crimson. She suddenly looked evil as she tapped her fingertips to her chin. "Now all I have to do now is win a game so that I can confess my love…!"

"Confess to who? Me?" a familiar male voice asked, seductively. I looked up behind Kou and saw Ebihara holding his bag over his right shoulder, an eyebrow raised as he leaned in towards Kou. Kou looked over her shoulder and blinked at Ebihara's sudden appearance before puffing out her cheeks.

"Yeah right, Aki-kun!" Kou huffed as she looked away and crossed her arms below her chest. "And it's not right to snoop on a girl's conversation, you know!"

"Well, save those type of conversations later then- like after school or something" Ebihara suggested as he pouted a little at Kou's actions. "You wouldn't want your crush to hear you squeal like a pig now would you~?" Kou gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands, her face becoming red. Ebihara laughed gleefully at Kou's reactions and waved goodbye to the three of us as he walked to class.

"Ooh, that Aki! He's really pushing it with me!" Kou huffed, her arms close to her side.

"Then… you don't like him?" I asked, a drop of sweat rolling down my jaw. If she doesn't even like him as a friend, he might make me be his girlfriend again.

"Well..." Kou began as she touched the back of her neck. "It's not that I _hate_ him. He's a pretty cool guy and is actually rather shy. It's kinda cute to be honest." Kou giggled at a memory, twirling her right pigtail.

She then suddenly huffed in frustration and continued, "But he's acting as if we're dating or something! He's always teasing me and such, I don't think I've ever seen that guy act serious! It makes me angry!"

"He kinda sounds like a perverted Nise some of the times. Honestly, I would have thought that they were brothers" Chou commented. Kou pinched Chou's cheeks in disapproval, earning a squeak of pain. I looked over my shoulder towards Ebihara's classroom and hummed. Maybe I should talk to him...

* * *

It's the second period of the morning- History. Ms. Sofe was currently lecturing a student who accidentally said that history was in the past and unimportant. I would consider myself a good student- one who didn't want to break the rules- but just this once… I'll break a rule really quick.

Carefully, I took out my iPhone from my desk, my eyes glued onto the student Ms. Sofe was lecturing. Once my iPhone was completely out, I quickly opened up messenger and quickly typed a message to Ebihara.

 _Ebihara-san, ease up on teasing of Kou-chan. She told me that she doesn't like how advanced u are treating her_

I quickly placed my iPhone on my lap and returned my gaze to the student, looking natural. Shortly after Ms. Sofe asked the class a question in which we all replied except for the student, my iPhone silently vibrated on my lap.

When it was safe to check, I looked down at Ebihara's reply.

 _4 real?_

I stopped myself from nodding as I quickly typed in a reply.

 _Yea_

Knowing that Ebihara was using his iPhone as well, I rested my forehead down on my desk to make it look like I was resting for a moment and waited.

Soon, there was a reply.

 _Kk, I'll ease up. Thnxs for tellin' me- glad to know that u still support me. Wanna go out again to make her jelly?_

I felt the blood in my face drain away as I slowly typed in a joke.

 _*Narukami, Hitomi has left the chat*_

Ebihara almost immediately replied, which caused me to deadpan.

 _Lol, so cute (but not as cute as Kou)_

I let out a soft sigh as I returned my attention to the teacher and the poor lectured student. It was pretty clear that everyone will _never_ go against Ms. Sofe and her passion for history.

* * *

 _After school..._

The instant school was over, everyone gathered in front of the school and we all went to the electronics department of Junes to enter the TV World.

Hanamura landed on his butt once again like always. Kanji and Nise seemed to be rather annoyed at Hanamura's lack of landing skills and are trying to teach him. Of course, Hanamura wasn't having any of it and the three began to argue.

While the three argued, Yukiko and I looked around for Berry, who we found wallowing in a corner as she clutched her head.

"Huh? Berry?" Yukiko called out, causing the boys behind us to stop arguing.

"What's wrong?" I asked, taking a few steps towards her.

"I wasn't crying…" Berry insisted before falling onto the floor on all fours. "You were having fun and forgot all about me…! You a-beared-en me!"

"You get lonely?" Nise asked as he stopped next to Yukiko.

"Yes! And I became a beary gloomy bear..." Berry agreed sadly, not facing us.

"Yeah, yeah- cut the crap" Hanamura sighed as he and Kanji stood next to me, Kanji's arms crossed over his chest.

"Did you just call my feelings crap?!" Berry squeaked as she jumped to her feet, twirling around to face us. Hanamura flinched a little in surprise.

Berry suddenly plopped down and rolled around while saying, "Oh, I'm just a stupid little bear who doesn't even know where she came from."

"Stay still" Kanji ordered as we watched Berry roll around.

"I live in oblivion and no one comes to see me…" Berry continued, obviously not caring for Kanji's order. "Then I thought I heard voices from your world They were all having so much fun…I was so lonely that I wanted to cry! I tried, but nothing came out!"

Berry stopped rolling and continued, "When I'm alone, I start to thing and that makes me even lonelier..."

"And then there was that angelic voice that kept on singing and singing!" Berry suddenly exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, looking angry and yet flustered.

"A singing voice...?" I repeated, tilting my head slightly.

"Yeah! A boy kept on singing and singing over on your world, and my poor little heart couldn't take it! I wanted to meet him!" Berry explained, flailing her arms. She suddenly sighed and continued, "I have no idea what's wrong with me… every time I hear that sweet voice, my nose becomes runny and no matter what I do- I can't help but sigh!" Berry turned to face me, her eyes big and glistening- desperately looking for an answer.

"Sensei, what's wrong with me? I don't like it! It makes me feel… beary unsatisfied" Berry sighed. I just stared at her with a blank expression. How was I supposed to know what was wrong with Berry? I still don't know what being a "lover" really means, even though I used to throw it around when giving "love advice" to my previous classmates.

"Berry, can it be…?" Yukiko suddenly began, looking excited as she covered her lower lip with her left hand.

"What is it, Yukiko-san? Do you know what's wrong with me?" Berry asked, sounding surprise.

"Do you, Yukiko-chan?" I asked. Yukiko giggled nervously as she nodded.

"Come on, isn't it obvious Hi-chan?" Yukiko asked before looking over to Berry and finished, "Berry has a crush on the boy she keeps hearing!" I stared at her in slight confusion as I slowly pieced together what a "crush" means.

"Whoa, a crush?" Nise exclaimed in awe, causing Berry to blush a little.

"Good for you, Berry" Kanji began, a little awkward. "You're becoming more and more… uh, human."

"But is that a good thing? After all, Berry is… Berry" Nise commented, scratching the back of his head.

"What's a crush?" Berry asked, looking over to Yukiko.

"It's when you like someone a bit more than a friend and want to learn more about them" Yukiko explained. I hummed in confusion as Berry smiled a little, seeming to understand. I just don't get it...

"How can she even feel? Berry _is_ hollow after all- she doesn't have the heart to get excited about someone" Hanamura pointed out, bluntly.

"Shut up! Stop saying I'm hollow, meanie Yosuke!" Berry scowled, stomping her foot on the ground.

"Wha- don't snap at me!" Hanamura snapped. "This is your world, isn't it?! You're the one who said you just want to live here peacefully, and made us promise to find the culprit—ow!"

"Hanamura, be nice to Berry" I asked, returning my elbow that I had just used to jab him in the stomach.

"Fine…" Hanamura muttered in reply as he rubbed his stomach.

"Well anyways, we'd never forget about you, Berry" Nise reassured as he walked over to Berry, petting her fur.

"Yeah. S-Sometimes we even think about you" Kanji agreed as he shyly went over and stroked Berry's fur as well. He must be still a bit embarrassed about liking cute things. Berry's ears twitched happily under the two boy's touch.

"Does this mean I can score with you guys?" Berry asked innocently as she looked up at the guys. They immediately stopped petting at Berry's words, causing Nise to stand up as Kanji jumped backwards.

"Nice recovery" Nise laughed dryly.

"Whe-Where did that come from?!" Kanji exclaimed, clearly flustered and a bit confused.

"Can we please drop the whole 'scoring' thing…?" Yukiko sighed, catching Kanji's attention. I patted his back reassuringly, telling him to drop the subject for now.

"Anyways, we wanted to ask you something!" Hanamura began quickly. "How's it been over here? Did a guy called Ryo Kujikawa show up? Can you sense anything?"

"Ryo Kujikawa?" Berry blinked, sniffing the air. "Hm…?" Berry sniffed the air continuously, looking as though she wasn't getting anything.

"You can't tell…? Your nose is kinda losing its edge lately, huh?" Hanamura asked with a frown as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm a pretty shabby bear…" Berry sighed in dismay. "Soon, I won't be useful at all. Then I'll get thrown away…"

"That's not true," I quickly reassured, walking over and hugging Berry.

"I can…stay with you all?" Berry asked slowly, stunned by my actions as she stared at me in disbelief.

"You can. I won't leave you- I promise. But first, we need you to look for someone" I replied, removing myself from her. Berry nodded with determination and took a big wiff of the air, continuing her search once again.

"Hmm…I'm gonna need some help like last time," Berry remarked, sounding disappointed in herself.

"Fine" Nise replied as he tied his hands behind his head. "We'll go look for something that'll help you search."

"I can't tell for sure" Berry began as she took a sniff of the air once again. "But I can kinda sense someone in here… I think I'll be able to find him. I just need some kind of hint."

"Hm..." Hanamura hummed, catching our attention. He glanced over at me for a moment before turning to face me.

"Hey, Narukami-chan. You've had the most interaction with Ryo- do you know what he's been keeping to himself?" he asked while crossing his arms over his chest. I blinked in surprise at his body language, sensing something negative from it despite his genuinely curious tone.

"Well..." I began, recalling our conversation yesterday. "He often talks about people not knowing who he truly is. That Ryouta isn't the 'real him'."

"Hmhm… His real self, I see…" Berry hummed as she took a few sniffs. "He's just like me. The delicate, sentimental type." I heard Hanamura stifle a scoff as he looked at her.

"If you get me something that has his 'real self' in, I might be able to pinpoint his location!" Berry chirped sounding a bit more confident than earlier.

"You can't already with that info?" Nise asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"Well, the scent has narrowed down- so I know it's general direction. But it's not enough for me to really take us there" Berry explained, her ears lowering to show that she's upset as well.

"You little…!" Hanamura growled. I stood up and looked at him with a firm look.

"It's fine- I'll stop by his grandmother's shop and ask if I can borrow anything" I said firmly, causing Hanamura to relax.

"You guys stay here- I won't take long" I instructed. The others looked at each other for a moment, looking a bit reluctant by my orders. With a sigh form Hanamura, they looked back at me and nodded, and walking towards the edge railing away from Berry, the exit, and myself. I turned around and headed for the exist, determining if there is any shortcut from Junes to the general shopping district. Right before I touched the televisions to return to Junes, I felt something tug at the back of my sailor top. I looked over my shoulder and saw Berry looking up at me.

"Sensei…?" Berry began as she held onto the back of my sailor top.

"What is it, Berry?" I asked, blinking in surprise.

"There are still a lot of things I don't understand…" Berry pointed out as she frowned, as if looking disappointed in herself. I turned around and stood on my knees to match Berry's height and stroked her fur gently.

"Don't worry too much about it. The others and I will help you through it" I reassured as I glanced over to the others, who were talking about something- oblivious to our little conversation.

"Thank you beary much" Berry's giggled as she smiled for the first time since we had arrived. "You're really kind, Sensei… I'll try even harder from now on!" I nodded in approval and patted Berry's head. I can tell that Berry is doing her best to try and find her role in life. I know Berry isn't even human- since she's Berry- but I feel almost like a proud mother.

After another pat on Berry's soft head, I stood up- ready to leave.

"I'll be waiting here…" Berry assured as she looked up at me, expectantly.

"I'll be back soon" I replied with a nod before turning around and exiting the world through the stack of televisions.

Once I was back at the Junes electronics department, I quickly took a shortcut towards Marukyu Tofu within four minutes by jogging. I stood in front of the traditional tofu shop, regulating my breath and wiping the sweat off my face. It have been getting warmer lately- running out in this weather is quite the sweat worker. Once I had regained my composure, I opened the door to the Marukyu and stepped inside. Upon entering, an elderly woman wearing a female version of Kujikawa's work attire quickly entered, looking panicked. Noticing me, she relaxed slightly and smiled.

"Oh, hello dear. What can I help you with? Some tofu?" the elderly woman asked. This must be Kujikawa's grandmother.

"Well… sure. I'll take two silken" I requested. We had just finished the tofu Dojima had accidentally bought, but Nanako wasn't exactly opposed to having tofu for dinner for three days straight. I'm sure she wouldn't mind some fried tofu- to what she thinks is a good combination with steak.

"Good choice, dear" the elderly woman chuckled, wobbling over to the kitchen/storage area behind the counter.

I watched her work for a little while before talking, "Ma'am, this might sound a bit strange… but do you have anything of your grandson's, Kujikawa-san?" The old woman let out a sharp laugh in amusement and nostalgia, not stopping.

"My, that's the first time in a while I have ever heard someone call Ryo-chan 'Kujikawa-san'" the old woman admitted as a wide smile stretched her lips. "Ever since he left and got that job in show business, everyone who asks about him has been calling him 'Ryo-kun' or 'Ryouta'. They've all forgotten how to call him 'Kujikawa-san'."

"I see… Does that have to do with his recent hiatus?" I asked, curious. "He told me that no one knew the _real him_ \- that all they saw was his facade."

"Ah, he said that did he?" the old woman asked as she stopped and looked at me. "That boy is a real mess, let me tell you. He was so fixated on thinking that no one would see the 'real him' as he put it- the shy, possessive, and gentle boy he was before becoming a Pop Idol. That's why he tried out, you know?" I blinked in surprise at this information and tilted my head slightly.

"Did he have difficulty making friends as a child?" I asked.

"Exactly" the old woman confirmed as she returned to work, a sad look on her face. "He was so lonely, he decided to become famous. But I think that it only made him more lonely than before..."

"I can understand that… So that's what he means by his 'real self'" I thought out loud, cupping my chin as I glanced to the right. It seems that I was right.

"But doesn't his facade also count as part of his 'real self'?" I asked, looking back at the old woman who was walking towards the counter with a small plastic bag.

"Ahaha, I was thinking the same thing! He did create that personality after all" the old woman laughed in agreement. She turned her attention to the cashier and typed in some numbers, a small piece of paper which I assumed to be the receipt printed out before looking at me with a smile.

"Here are your two silken. That'll be 300 yen, dear" the old woman said as she handed me the plastic bag of tofu, stuffing the receipt inside. I took out my wallet that I decided to bring, just in case. Handing the old woman the money, she pushed a button on the cashier- causing it's money drawer to open.

"Go upstairs behind this curtain and enter the room directly across from the stairway" the old woman suddenly said, without even looking at me. "That's Ryo-chan's room. You can borrow one of the books from his room… he reads the series every day- that is, before he became 'Pop Idol Ryouta'." Stunned, all I did was stare at her. The old woman closed the money drawer and looked up at me, nodding. Snapping out of my shock, I grasped the bag of tofu and bowed deeply in gratitude.

"Thank you, ma'am. I'll take good care of it and bring it right back" I reassured as I stood back up. The old woman let out a laugh as I made my way towards the back of the counter and towards the blue curtain.

"Dear..." the old woman suddenly began, stopping me from going any further. I turned around to face her, seeing that she had a rather worried look on her face.

"If you see Ryo-chan, please tell him to come home. I haven't seen him since yesterday… He wouldn't just leave without telling me. He's a bit protective of me, you know?" the old woman explained with a worried tone. I stared at her as she shifted a little, turning her attention back to the door then back at me. So earlier, she must have been expecting Kujikawa… ANd when she saw me, she was disappointed.

"...I'll bring him home if I see him, ma'am. I promise to bring him home by tonight" I replied firmly. The old woman blinked in surprise before smiling in relief.

"Thank you, dear… Make sure he's safe" the old woman requested. I nodded firmly before turning around and walked past the curtain. Behind it was a rather traditional, wooden Japanese house- straight ahead leading towards the bathroom and living room, while to the left of me lead upstairs. Removing my shoes, I headed up the stairs- following the old woman's instructions.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I headed towards the door ahead of me and opened the door. The room was much more… _tidy_ than I had expected. The wall is painted with an interesting baby blue and light orange stripes, two small wooden bookcases- one next to Kujikawa's futon and the other beside his white desk that had a cardboard box on top of it- while the other was next to his futon. I noticed that the bookshelf next to his desk had only a few textbooks while the other shelves were filled with figurines. The bookshelf next to his futon is considerably small, holding only about roughly 17 books that look to be all part of the same series. Curious, I walked over towards the bookshelf and squatted down. Is this…? I picked up the first book and opened it up- confirming my assumptions. It's shoujo manga called "Special A". So he used to read this series when he was younger? It's not everyday that you see a young man interested in a young girl's manga. Reminds me of that one series- "Otomen".

Nodding to myself, I closed the book and quickly rushed down stairs. I slipped on my shoes and thanked the old woman before running back over to Junes. Within minutes, I returned back to the T.V World- everyone turning their attention towards me.

"Welcome back, Sensei! What'd ya got for me?" Berry asked as she jumped over to me, looking ready and determined. Panting, I showed her the manga that I had retrieved.

"This... is Ryo's" I panted, trying to regulate my breath. "His grandmother... said that this had something that's part of his real self and... not Ryouta."

"Whoa, that's volume one of 'Special A'! That's Ryo's?" Hanamura asked as he and the others approached us, standing behind Berry who was sniffing the manga and then the air. "Whoa, that's nuts. On T.V, he doesn't show any interest in manga and anime- he mainly sticks to action films. Who'd a thought?"

"That's a really good series. It's considered a classic" Yukiko pointed out with a nostalgic smile.

"It is?" Kanji asked as he arched his brow. "I dunno, I read a lot of shoujo manga, and I've never heard of this one..."

"Oh, so you like shoujo, huh?" Yukiko asked, sounding impressed. The others- besides from Berry- looked over at Kanji in surprise.

"H-Huh?! Where did you get that idea?! I-I never said that I _liked_ it!" Kanji quickly explained, a small blush tinging his cheeks.

"But you do _read_ it" Yukiko pointed out with a giggle. "It's okay, Kanji-kun, I also like to read shoujo manga. I read this series in particular when I was a child." Nise exclaimed softly in realization, making a face.

"Oh… so that the manga that you tried to get me to read when we were kids, huh? I didn't read it cause it was just so… bleh" Nise said as he stuck out his tongue, expressing his distaste for the manga. I frowned at Nise's tone, thinking that in some way he was showing disgust to Kujikawa.

"Can you guys promise not to tell anyone about this?" I asked sternly, causing Nise to blink in surprise. "Kujikawa-san might be like Kanji-kun and might be a bit embarrassed by this." I glanced over to Hanamura and glared slightly, causing him to flinch.

"G-Got it…" Hanamura and Nise said nervously as they looked at each other.

"Hrmmm…Whaah!?" Berry suddenly exclaimed, catching our attention. "There's something out there! I think I found him, you guys! Follow me!" Berry turned around and started running to the right, the others quickly following her. I placed the manga down onto the ground and ran after my friends.

* * *

"Kujikawa-san's… _here_?" I asked as I turned my attention to Berry.

We were all standing in front of a rather flashy building with music faintly coming from the inside. The outside is rather plain, holding a few signs that say "Welcome" and "Guests Must Change". The most eye-catching thing about the building is the purple-light sign that's held up and has the words "Maru-Q" written on it. I suppose one can call it… a club?

"I smell him loud and clear!" Berry announced as she turned to face me. I hummed as I made my way inside, the others catching up to me- asking me to wait up. When we entered, the music became louder and the lights became dinner. We could barely see the floor beneath us and had to hold some part of each other to ensure that no one would get lost. Despite the dim light, we were still able to tell that we were standing on top of a heart-shaped magenta colored carpet.

"What is this place…?" Nise asked as we looked around, letting go of one another. "It's all dark…"

 **"Ladies and bugs! Welcome, welcome~!"** a distorted version of Kujikawa's voice, greeted.  
At that moment, a switch was flipped on and bright lights instantly lit up the room. The light was rather bright and nearly blinded us as proven by the grunts of slight pain from everyone. Blinking rapidly to adjust to the new brightness, I looked around the room.

"Whoa, guys..." I exclaimed, feeling my face heat up. We were stood in the walkway between two rows of exquisitely furnished booths with seats that appeared to be plush and made out of velvet. Curtains hung from the walls as a decoration of some sort. Some of the lights created outlines of hearts and decorated them on the walls. In front of us is an opened curtain that seems to be leading the way, a cardboard of a man wearing a butler suit with bunny ears held a welcome sign next to the curtain. Everything, from the decoration to the lights of this specific location was completely gaudy and very…adult-oriented. I felt extremely childish here and for once- I wanted to turn back.

"Dude, isn't this one of those clubs you find next to an old inn in some _washed-up_ old tourist town?" Hanamura asked, looking over to Nise. Nise shrugged in reply, making a face.

"It does look like it" Yukiko agreed. "I wonder what kind of sleaze club it is…" I turned to look at her as she looked around, surprised. Noticing my stare, Yukiko looked at me and blushed a little.

"Oh, no! Not like my family's inn!" Yukiko denied as she waved a hand in front of her face.

"Yukiko, should I even _ask_ how you know what a sleaze club is?" Nise asked, looking concerned.

"Well, sometimes people at the inn leave behind very interesting things, like magazines…I found an occult magazine once!" Yukiko explained, seeming very proud of her find. A drop of sweat dropped from Nise's chin as he sighed.

"So… a host club…" Kanji guessed as he looked around, catching our attention. "You guys sure about this?" No one replied as we all stared at him. I wanted to save Kujikawa- and even though I really, _really_ didn't want to go any further- I nodded in reply to Kanji's question. What matters is that Kujikawa is saved. My discomfort has to be placed on the side for now.

 **"A host club? Wrong, wrong- _wrong_. You guests are so _utterly_ stupid!" ** the distorted voice from earlier chirped, causing us to gasp and look around. There was no one around- aside from an oddly placed speaker that was directly above us.

"W-Well then- where are we?" Nise called out, sounding embarrassed for doing so.

 **"Welcome to the Maru-Q Striptease!"** the distorted voice greeted happily.

"S-Striptease?!" Hanamura exclaimed, surprised. "A-Are high school students even allowed in here?"

"In a country where you have to be 20 in order to drink? Most likely not" Kanji replied bluntly, a drop of sweat rolling down his jaw.

 **"High school students? No, no, no…this will not do! Off with the uniforms!"** the distorted voice demanded with a sigh.

"Wh-What?! Why should we do that?" Yukiko exclaimed.

 **"Aww, didn't you come to cheer me on as I show everyone every _last_ inch of me?" ** Shadow Kujikawa cooed. Yukiko and I sputtered at this- our faces turning a brilliant shade of red.

 **"Heh- it's cute the way your face turns all red. Red is a nice color on both of you~"** Shadow Kujikawa laughed. Embarrassed, I covered my face to hide as Yukiko took a step closer to me- seeking comfort.

"Hey, piss off!" I heard Nise shout, sounding angry.

"Stop making Narukami-chan uncomfortable, asshole!" Hanamura shouted as well, just as angry. Surprised, I looked up from my hands and noticed that the guys were standing in front of Yukiko and myself, searching for Shadow Kujikawa.

"Show yourself already, ya pansy!" Kanji demanded, a vein pumping on his neck.

 **"Haha, you'll have to come inside and find me!"** Shadow Kujikawa laughed. **"But as I said before, the uniforms _must_ go!"**

"W-Why?" Yukiko asked nervously. "We don't e-even have anything else to wear."

 **"And that's where I'll say you're wrong, darling! Take a look~"** Shadow Kujikawa laughed. Right on cue, curtains that had been covering the walls on both sides of the room were drawn apart, revealing five black doors on each side. A big flashy, purple heart decorated upper halves of the doors.

 **"One of those doors leads to your very own dressing room!"** Shadow Kujikawa explained as lights shoned on the doors. **"And inside your dressing room is a change of clothes made especially for you! In order to enter Maru-Q Striptease, you _must_ change and wear everything that has been given to you. How will you know which room is yours? Simple- only _you_ can open the door to your own room!"**

"Are you serious?" Hanamura asked, sounding shocked. "Why are you making us do this?! What the hell is the point?!"

 **"'Cause this is my show"** Shadow Kujikawa said simply. " **And in order to be in it, you _must_ change into your new outfit! Now I'll leave you guests be, so bye-bye!** " With that, a 'click' sound went off and all was silent- save from the music.

"Maru-Q... Striptease…" I slowly repeated slowly with a red face. The boys turned around to face us, Hanamura and Kanji crossing their arms over their chest- all three looking confused and a bit angry.

"So…" Berry began as she looked at the five doors to her right that led to the dressing rooms. "What are you guys gonna do?"

"We're not gonna do anything! We don't have to listen to that idiot!" Nise immediately answered, firmly.

"Come on- let's get going already!" Nise instructed as he turned around and began to stomp ahead towards the opened curtain ahead of us. But when he tried to cross to the other side, the butler-bunny cardboard sign suddenly spun around and smacked Nise down to the ground, earning a grunt.

"Nise!" Yukiko squeaked as we all rushed over to him.

"Are you okay, Nise-kun?" I asked as Kanji and Hanamura grabbed him by the hands and dragged him away from the curtain.

"Okay… well, we have to get changed…" Nise grunted as Kanji and Hanamura let go of him.

"Well then… We might have to check them all out" Yukiko suggested.

"What a pain… This is going to take a while" Hanamura sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"This is certainly a first… we have never had to get dressed before to chase after a shadow. This place get's crazier and crazier by the minute it seems…" I sighed, walking towards a door.

"You got that right..." Nise agreed as he walked towards the door next to mine.

"But what exactly are we going to be wearing?" Yukiko asked curiously as she took the very last door, next to Kanji and Hanamura.

"That's what I'm worried about" Nise sighed as he jiggled the doorknob, but wasn't able to open it.

"It can't be that bad! Maybe it's meant for being a ladies man!" Hanamura said, sounding determined as he tried to open his door but couldn't. Nise and I switched doors and tried to open them, neither opening.

About ten minutes later, we all managed to find our respective dressing rooms and entered. I couldn't help but gasp softly in surprise when I saw the inside of my dressing room, surprised. The rooms had a large black dresser that took up about half of the room. The dresser had a large, heart-shaped mirror with light bulbs, outlining the frame. Make-up lined the area where the mirror met the table, varying from different shades. A small, aluminum bottle stood out amongst the makeup and a note was stuck to the mirror, reading: "✧Place your uniform on the rack✧" Blinking in surprise, I looked over to the other side of the room stood a clothing rack, from which a single hanger hung from. Letting out a sigh, I rubbed the back of my neck as sweat dripped from my forehead. I looked around once more and noticed a drawer sticking out from the dresser. Curious, I walked over to it and pulled it out, noticing the rather flash contents inside. Pulling them out, one at a time, I felt my face become as hot as lava- my legs melting away causing me to fall down. Why me?

3rd POV

About twenty minutes or so have passed since our heroes have gone to change. Just like during the campout, the boys were finished first- and none of them were happy about what they were wearing. Yosuke was wearing tight black leather pants, an orange unbuttoned vest, and black dress shoes. Nise was wearing a similar outfit, but had on tight green leather knee-high pants, black unbuttoned vest, and black dress shoes. Kanji was wearing a bit more of a revealing outfit, wearing only tight black leather shorts and black dress shoes. This would have been… _fine_ , if it weren't for one thing. They were all wearing animal ears and some sort of collar. Yosuke was wearing fawn dog ears and a black collar, Nise was wearing brown dog ears, a clip on black bow, while Kanji wore fox ears, a fox tail, and a black collar with a small chain dangling from it. They all looked like some sort of host meant for clubbing- and _none_ of them were happy about this. Nise and Yukiko were standing with arms crossed closing their vests, while Kanji sulked in a corner. He was in pure shame of wearing the revealing outfit. In a way- he felt like a prostitute. Nothing could be worse than this...

"What the hell man?! This guy…" Yosuke growled, catching Nise and Kanji's attention. "...really is the ideal ladies man! My image of him has just grown by like- _eleven_ points!" Nise roared as he did a roundhouse kick to Yosuke's head, earning a cry of pain.

"This isn't the time for you to be fan-boying over Ryo right now, Yosuke!" Nise growled as he dropped down on top of Yosuke, earning another cry.

"Ugh… Senpai, please don't say 'fan-boy'… It makes me feel sick..." Kanji pleaded weakly, sulking once again. Nise stood up, and placed his hands on his hips.

"Hey, don't sulk like that! If this is what we're wearing, imagine how bad the girls will be!" Nise growled, his blood boiling at the pure thought. He was going to beat down Ryo's Shadow for forcing the girls to wear something that might make them look like the girls from playboy magazines. Nise noticed that Yosuke and Kanji had suddenly grown quite, looking up with red faces. Realizing what they were doing, Nise grabbed Yosuke and threw him over to Kanji- the two yelping at the impact of smacking into each other.

"Don't _actually_ imagine it, you idiots!" Nise snapped, as the two groaned in pain. Huffing and panting, Nise heard two doors open- catching his attention.

"Alright, everyone is changed. We can enter the Maru-Q Striptease now" a familiar voice spoke, causing Kanji and Yosuke to look over as Nise blushed. Hitomi and Yukiko had both exited out of the same room. Yukiko had actually finished early and made her way to Hitomi's dressing room to help her with makeup and/or putting on her outfit. There were no rules about that, so she had no trouble getting in. Although, Hitomi ended up requesting for only a hint of lip-gloss and to have her eyelashes curled.

The guys couldn't help but stare at their two female party members. Hitomi was wearing a short pink and blue sailor top above what appeared to be pink underwear (when it's actually a two-piece bathing suit), a blue collar, white bunny ears, a white bunny tail, pink and blue knee high boots, and black laced stockings. Yukiko looked virtually the same as Hitomi but had on a short red and black sailor top above a red two-piece bathing suit, a clip on red bow, black bunny ears, a black bunny tail, red and black knee high boots, and black laced stockings. Hitomi showed no emotions of being in discomfort, her face as blank as ever. Yukiko on the other hand was tugging on her sailor top, trying to cover her belly-button. Nise was furious at the sight of them.

"Guys- say anything and I'll _critical kick you in the nads_ " Nise threatened as he glared over at the red face Yosuke and Kanji. The duo both looked away in order to refrain from speaking- and getting their nuts kicked. Berry, who had been waiting at the entrance skipped on inside and gasped at the sight of everyone.

"Wow, everyone looks so cute! Now I'm not the only animal, haha!" Berry laughed innocently, oblivious to the sexual effects the outfits had.

"Shut up, bear!" Nise snapped, causing Berry to squeak in fear and whimper. Almost instantly, Nise apologized and comforted Berry.

"Come on you guys, stop messing around" Hitomi instructed as she began to walk towards the curtains. "Don't get distracted by the costumes. Remember, we have to save Kujikawa-san." Berry squealed in awe at Hitomi's words and quickly ran over to her, throwing out compliments as the two walked. The others on the other hand- mostly the boys, as Yukiko waited for them to start walking- stared at Hitomi in disbelief.

"How the hell can she stay so calm during this situation…?!" Yosuke muttered, completely baffled by how calm Hitomi was acting. "She's literally dressed up like as a bunny girl...!"

"Well technically, we _all_ do" Yukiko pointed out, looking at the costumes the boys were wearing. Kanji let out a disgusted groan as he covered his face with one hand.

"You guys, seriously… don't talk about it..." Kanji pleaded weakly once again, earning a confused yet surprised look from Yukiko.

"Wow, I just realized..." Nise suddenly began, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at Hitomi's walking figure. He suddenly blushed and continued, "Narukami has a really nice ass..." Yosuke and Kanji immediately looked over to Hitomi at this while Yukiko deadpanned, a vein forming on the right side of her forehead.

"Do you think she works out a lot?" Nise asked, his face becoming even redder.

"Most likely to get it _that_ round" Yosuke guessed as his face became cherry red. Yukiko's right eyebrow began to twitch in sync with her pulsing vein, her fists tightening.

"You've crossed the line..." Yukiko growled, much to the surprise of Nise and Yosuke.

"You guys are so lame. Nowhere _near_ as cool as Narukami-senpai" Kanji sighed, sounding dissapointed. Even though he looked as well, he didn't look at Hitomi's butt the same way as the others. He only looked 'cause he was curious to know if his silver haired Senpai was strong. After all, she has been saving people from this world. Hitomi, oblivious to the conversation about her rear-end, suddenly stopped and turned around; placing her right hand on her hip.

"If the costumes really bother you that much, I'll just save Kujikawa-san by myself with Berry" Hitomi called out before noticing that Yukiko was dragging Nise by the ear and Kanji was carrying Yosuke.

"Hold on, Hi-chan! We're coming!" Yukiko called out happily, above Nise and Yosuke's whimpering. Hitomi blinked in surprise at the sight, wondering what happened.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, elsewhere…_

"There she is! Good morning, Sa-chan!"

"Morning!"

Sachiko Yurozaki. She was the first girl Ryo ever liked… She had short, bouncy black hair, popping blue eyes, a wonderful smile, and an angelic voice. Whenever she sang, Ryo felt like time had stopped. He often got in trouble during music class for not participating, tranced by Sachiko's voice. He didn't have the courage to go up and talk to her… She was pretty much the school's angel- the perfect student. She was fun, good at sports, she knew how to bake, and got good grades… The perfect student.

"Hey, did you hear? Ryo-kun asked to borrow some colored pencils and the person he was asking totally ignored him! It was like he was never there!"

"Serves him right. After all- if he won't talk with any of us, why should _we_ talk to _him_?"

Ryo was really shy as a child… He didn't know how to talk to anyone else. He didn't really follow the crowd. While the boys in his class were reading Shonen manga about fighting robots, Ryo was reading Shoujo manga about girls falling in love. While the girls in his class talked about Pop Idols, he wanted to talk about the latest movies. Everything that Ryo was interested in, no one else was. He didn't have the basic socializing skills- he was so used to either reading or watching television in silence. Ryo never picked up on how to talk to people. He had no friends from pre-school all the way until the second grade. But there was someone inside of that he wanted everyone to know exsisted… He just didn't know how to introduce that person to other people. Ryo didn't even know who this person was.

After the opening ceremony for thrid grade, Ryo sat behind the sakura tree's while waiting for his mom to pick his up. Ryo thought he was alone at the time, so he sang to myself. But it turned out- Ryo wasn't alone.

"You're… Kujikawa, right?"

Sachiko was there as well, waiting for her ride. She listened to Ryo's song all the way through, before finally interupting him.

"Y… Yes..."

"Gee, you have such a nice voice! You should sing more often!"

"R… Really?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"Th… Thank you…!"

Sachiko giggled and soon left, her father picking her up. Ryo was so happy that he had talked with Sachiko that he smiled for the first time since he was a baby. He thought that this was the year that he was finally going to make friends.

But that dream was destroyed the very next morning.

"Um… Sorry, do I know you?"

Sachiko had forgotten who Ryo was- even though they had just spoken yesterday. Ryo was so upset about it, he cried silently while reading his favoriate Shojo manga- 'Special A'. He liked the girl that the story followed in the series- she reminded him so much of Sachiko. He wanted to be so much like the main love interest- thinking that Sachiko would like him to through their friendly competition in singing.

But he thought it was a stupid idea. If Sachiko couldn't even remember who he was after 18 hours, how could she ever see him as a friendly competitor? Ryo cried and cried in silence while he read for days, his eyes getting puffier and puffier to the point that the kids started calling him "Puff-yo".

"Ryo…? How was school, dear?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ryo's parents often tried to comfort him during this time of sorrow. But he never talked with them- not after he was five. That's how shy and quiet Ryo was- he couldn't even talk to his own parents.

One day, during winter break, Ryo saw a commercial for Japan's next Idol.

" _From January 10th to January 20th, we'll be in Inaba looking for young talent! If you think you have what it takes to be Japan's next Idol, come on down and audition from 8 AM to 6 PM!_ "

They were comming over to his hometown- YasoInaba- to look for hidden talent in the country side. Even if you didn't become selected for the compition, if you were good enough- an agent from a talent agency would take you in. Ryo wanted someones opinion on this, so the next day he visited his beloved grandmother who ran a tofu shop in town.

"Ryo-chan, what brings you here? Do you want some ganmodoki, sweetheart?"

"Grandma... I saw this commercial about a talent agency looking for talent… If I went, do you think I'll make some friends?"

"Ryo-chan… Is this what you want to do?"

"I… All I want is a friend, someone to talk to… But I just don't know how! I just don't know how to talk to other people besides from you, Grandma… Everyone I see on T.V seem so happy and confident… If I audition, then maybe someone can help me become more confident- confident enough to make friends. I don't know what to do at this point..."

"I see… Well, if you're sure about this- I want you to know, Ryo-chan… Whatever happens, I'll always be there for you. I know just how magical your voice is, so I know that you'll do just fine."

"Thanks, Grandma…!"

And so, his grandmother told Ryo's parents about his idea. They were a little a little upset that they didn't hear it from Ryo directly, but they were also supportive of his decision. Ryo went to the auditioning with his Mom on the first day. Ryo was nervous, but he gathered as much courage as he needed and sang for them. They loved Ryo and immediately accepted him- praising him to be one of the best child singers of the century. Ryo was happy at first… But when he found out that he had to move away, Ryo was devestated. He didn't want to leave Sachiko or his Grandmother… But they said that if he left with them, Ryo'd make more friends than he could count. And so, his parents and Ryo moved- leaving his grandmother behind. She didn't cry when they left. She had a smile on her face the entire time, saying that Ryo was always welcome to visit her when he needed someone to talk to.

Ryo didn't win the competition in the end- only making it to the finale- but was offered several talent agencies. His parents were the ones who picked for him, since he was only a child. That was when Ryo met his new manager- Inoue Sora. They asked Ryo if he wanted a stage name for himself. He decided to go with something simple and Japanese- "Ryouta".

During his years with the agency, Ryo learned how to talk to people, how to sing better; and how to smile. It was the greatest time of his young life. Ryo went to a private school, since his mother had become too busy with calls and fan-mail to teach him. Whenever Ryo went to school, girls would surround him at the entrance and ask if he wanted to eat lunch together later. Before and after classes, boys would gather around his desk and ask if he met a certain celebrity. Ryo was too young to understand it at the time… Just how lonely Ryo really was. He was too young to realize that he never spoke about himself with his new friends. He was always talking about Ryouta.

By the time Ryo was 14-years-old, he was a popular Pop Idol. He had sold 12 albums, won two trophies, and had met more celebrities than a regular Pop Idol. Inoue said that Ryo was old enough and well known enough to go on his first world tour. When the news hit the media, every concert was booked mounths before they actual day- sevral thousands of people swarming outside the stadiums on the actual day. Ryo's tour stopped by lots of towns and cities in Japan, doing photoshoots for magazines all the while. When they reached Inaba- the first place Ryo went to was his grandmother's tofu shop where tears had shed. Ryo had Inoue cancle all his meetings and photo shoots just to be with her. Inoue didn't mind, saying that it was a good image for Ryouta.

After the second concert in Inaba, Ryo went walking around town- and that's when he saw a very familiar face. Sachiko.

"S… Sa-chan…!"

"Do I…? O-Oh my god, it's you!"

"Yeah, I-I'm Ryo-"

"You're Ryouta the Idol!"

"...Huh?"

"I-I'm a big fan! Can I have a picture?!"

"You… you don't remember me?"

"Huh?"

"...your horrible."

Ryo ran to his bus that day, tears steaming down his face. He was heartbroken… Ryo finally meet the first girl he loved once again, and she didn't even remember him. She only saw "Ryouta the Idol"- a wordplay on his real name. She didn't even remember after one day… What made him think that _now_ would be any different?

A few days later, Ryo had started to question who "Ryouta" really was after a meeting. Inoue had changed- taking care of everything Ryouta related without even discussing it with Ryo. As Ryouta, Ryo had to start showing fake smiles that looked real. If they weren't convincing enough, Ryo had to spend an hour smiling until they looked genuine. That's when Ryo started to think that "Ryouta" wasn't a part of him… It wasn't the real him- the him he always wanted to show to Sachiko and his classmates.

 **"So… Just who is the real you? Only _I_ know the answer, Ryo Kujikawa..."**

* * *

Hitomi's POV

Berry and I were walking side-by-side as we ventured through the Striptease with the uncomfortable clothes. The Striptease- just like Yukiko's Castle- is actually rather nice. The hallways were lined with orange and golden flower trees and bushes, flashing lights that outline men and women swaying their hips on each side of the walls. The place was rather dark, giving the purple lights on the ground, walls, and ceiling more emphasis. It all looked rather fancy- and with these new clothes on, I kinda felt like I belonged here… much to my disgust.

"You know, guys… There are some exciting possibilities here" Hanamura pointed out behind me, sounding a bit excited. Nise and Yukiko sighed at Hanamura's words, sounding both exhausted and annoyed.

"So this is what these places are like on the inside, huh?" Kanji asked.

"It doesn't look half bad… just remove all the adult suggested themes" Nise commented. I couldn't help but nod in agreement, thinking the same thing… much to my disgust.

"This place seems to have a lot of smoke here, doesn't it…? It's different from the usual fog- like at the bath house" Yukiko pointed out, sounding a bit confused. I blinked in surprise and looked around, taking note of the smoke. Just as Yukiko said, there is a great deal of smoke surrounding us, changing color in sync with the music.

"Yeah, but that was steam wasn't it? This is just plain… smoke" Hanamura replied.

"Could it be from those smoke makers that performers often use during concerts?" Kanji asked.

"Oh, that could be it" Hanamura agreed, before suddenly letting out a squeal of excitement and commenting, "Man, this place is screaming more and _more_ of a lady killer!" Nise clicked his tongue in annoyance, Hanamura yelping in pain shortly after.

"I swear to _God_ Yosuke, if you fan-boy over Ryo _one more time_ , you won't be able to walk for days!" Nise growled. Hanamura whimpered in reply as Kanji sighed weakly.

As we all continued to walk, I started to get a strange feeling crawling up and down my side. Something seemed… _off_ about this place. Almost as if… this place is after me. I can't really place my finger on it… All I know is that I'm a little nervous about continuing forward. But of course, that's not going to stop me. The quicker we save Kujikawa, the faster I can get outta here.

As we continued walking down several hallways, we reached a hallway that was different from the others. There was no swaying hips and not as many lights, aside from the small red ones on the edge of the floor and blue patterned light on the ceiling.

We entered a room at the end of the new hallway, the first thing our eyes meeting a smoke covered stage with something that stood up and reached the high ceiling. It was surprisingly dark- more so than the hallway we just came from. Despite this, I was able to see multiple booths inside the room.

 **" _Ladies and gentleman!_ _Welcome! Let me guide you through this sparkling world of wonder!_ "**

Suddenly, bright white lights shone onto the stage- revealing a pole in the middle- behind six Kujikawa's all wearing different outfits- three towards the left and three towards the right of the stage. The Kujikawa on the far left had a white prince-like costume on with a small red and golden crown sitting on the left side of his head. The one next to that Kujikawa is wearing a black wig that covered his right eye while wearing a doctors outfit. The last one on the left side of the stage next to the doctor Kujikawa has his hair tied up into a small ponytail, with his hair straightened, and is wearing a orange-brown and white soccer uniform and sneakers on. The first one on the right- right after soccer Kujikawa- is wearing a white cheerleading uniform for men, holding two golden pompoms in the air. The one next to the cheerleading Kujikawa is wearing a black suit with a forda and glasses, twirling what seemed to be a gun. And the last Kujikawa on the very right of the stage is wearing a traditional samurai outfit, wearing a copper wig that was tied up into a high, long ponytail; his left hand firmly holding onto a katana.

"That's a whole lot of… Ryouta's" Nise pointed out, sounding stunned. I nodded in agreement as I took a step back, the nervous feeling growing even more within me. Hanamura jumped forward in my place, a strange sparkle in his eyes as he practically glowed.

"Yeah, and I know all of them! It's essential to take note if you want to be a true ladies man! The first one-" Hanamura began as he pointed to the princely Kujikawa.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" Nise shouted as he kicked Hanamura right in between the legs, causing him and Kanji to gasp in pain. Hanamura then fell limp onto the ground, his body twitching as Nise huffed and stomped on Hanamura's butt, earning a grunt.

 **"Okay, this one is called: Ryouta's dynamite _body_!"** the distorted voice from before cheered as the Kujikawa shown from last night rose up from the ground- taking center stage, facing away from us. Kujikawa in a transparent dress shirt speedo turned around and winked.

 **"Are, you, all, ready?"** he asked seductively.

"Huh?" everyone, besides from Hanamura, asked at the same time.

"I AM! RYOUTA, TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!" Hanamura suddenly squealed, looking perfectly fine. Without a word, Nise jumped up and kicked Hanamura down to the ground, grinding his head with his foot. Yukiko and I had to pry Nise off of Hanamura for the sake of Hanamura not receiving a concussion.

 **"Today, I'm here to bare _everything_ to you all!" ** Kujikawa in a transparent dress shirt and speedo cheered. We said nothing as drops of sweat began to roll down my jaw.

 **"What? You think I'm some fibby-wibby?"** Kujikawa in a transparent dress shirt and speedo laughed, placing a hand on his ear as if to enhance his hearing. **"Will you have to find out for yourself if I'm telling a lie? But I'm telling the truth!"**

 **"You're about to meet: the, real, _me_ " **Kujikawa in a transparent dress shirt and speedo cooed, lowering his head slightly. He then began to walk backwards, his left hand grabbing onto the the pole when he backed into it. He then leapt up and twirled on the pole, the other Kujikawa's clapping in sync with the sudden music that began to play. The spotlight seems to only be on the transparent shirt and speedo wearing Kujikawa- making me assume that he is Kujikawa's Shadow- the one who talked with us earlier.

"Uh… I really hope mine wasn't like this" Kanji muttered, catching our attention

"You have no idea" Nise sighed, causing beads of sweat to fall from Kanji's jaw.

"Man, this is brutal..." Kanji whimpered softly, rubbing the back of his head. Berry turned around to face him and stomped her foot down.

"What you're seeing is Ryo-kun's true inner feelings! Of _course_ they're brutal!" Berry barked, gently. I looked back over to Kujikawa as he continued to dance and felt my heart throb.

 _"The boy that everyone makes such a big fuss over isn't the real me… Ryouta, huh? What a joke..."_

"Kujikawa-san..." I muttered, placing a fist over my heart as I recalled our conversation. He needs to know… he needs to realize that "Ryouta" is just as real as his true self. No one can create something within themselves and say that it's fake. Whether they like it or not- it's a part of them. Just like how "Hachi" is a part of me too. All of a sudden, a roar of excited voices filled the room.

"Whoa, what's with these voice?" Kanji asked as he looked around.

"The roar of the crowd is insane this time… It's making me sick" Nise huffed, glancing about.

"If people really are watching this… we gotta do something and fast. This is a thousand times worse than just hearing a few nasty secrets" Hanamura pointed out, looking serious now- much to my relief.

"Eek! The Shadows are really getting aggravated!" Berry squeaked, waddling to the back of the group- standing behind Kanji.

"Narukami-chan, Yukiko; stand behind us. I'm getting a bad feeling..." Nise suddenly instructed, snapping me out of my thoughts, as he stood in front of Yukiko and myself.

 **"Hmph"** Shadow Kujikawa huffed, as if frustrated, and stopped dancing on the pole. The music stopped as well as the clapping from the other Kujikawa's as Shadow Kujikawa continued, **"Talk about a dead crowd."**

 **"Well then, maybe it's about time that I bring out our _special_ guest!" ** Shadow Kujikawa chirped with a rather evil grin.

"Uh, what guest?" Hanamura asked as he slowly stood up, holding the back of his head tenderly.

 **"Today's special guest is-"** The other Kujikawa's began to all make drumming noises, causing a shiver to crawl up my spine. With the distortion in their voices, it was rather creepy…

Shadow Kujikawa extended his left hand over to his left and announced, **"Ryo Kujikawa!"** The spotlight suddenly shoned over to the left of Shadow Kujikawa, revealing the real Kujikawa on his hands and knees while wearing his Marukyu work attire.

"Stop it… that's enough…!" the real Kujikawa whimpered, his face red with embarrassment and possible shame. I blinked in surprise as I noticed that his body was trembling slightly, his eyes glazed with tears as he looked up at his Shadow.

"Kujikawa-san!" I called out, causing the others to begin running. But then suddenly, three large Shadow's that looked almost identical from the police Shadow's- aside from the different attire, making them look more like detectives or bodyguards- landed in front of us, causing a large shock wave. Everyone- besides from Berry and myself- flew backwards at the impact while Berry and I flew towards a nearby booth for "guests" to watch the show.

 **"Listen up, guests!"** I heard Shadow Kujikawa began as Berry and I slowly sat up. **"Remember your manners and refrain from touching the dancers at all times."** I blinked in surprise at the instructions. What dancers? There aren't any dancers? Curious, I looked over the booth to where the stage was.

"Huh?" I gasped, realizing that the other Kujikawa's have started to dance around the real Kujikawa, his real Shadow no longer on stage.

"Where'd that one guy go?" Berry asked as she looked around **.**

 **"One lucky lady has the opportunity to watch the show with _me_ " **a creepy, distorted voice cooed. I was suddenly grabbed around the waist and raised up, suddenly flipped and was being held bridal style. I felt my face heat up when I realized that Shadow Kujikawa was holding me in his arms, sitting on a red love sofa you see on television where the VIP's sit on.

"L-Let me go" I requested forcefully, stuttering.

 **"Now why would I do that? Just enjoy the show, rabbit"** Shadow Kujikawa purred, cupping my chin. I felt my body shudder in fear and discomfort at his words.

"Narukami-chan!" I heard Hanamura call out, shortly shouting in surprise. I gasped and looked down, just in time to see the others dodge out of the way from flying bullets that fired out of the large Shadow's guns.

"Everyone!" I called out, worried. I tried to free myself from Shadow Kujikawa's grip, only to be hugged from behind, as he chuckled into my ear- causing me to freeze.

3rd POV

"Man, that was close… Let's start beatin' these things down" Kanji said out loud to no one in particular as he stood up, the furthest away from everyone. However, instead of actually _doing_ anything, Kanji just… stood there. Kanji blinked in confusion, realizing something.

"Uh… Guys, what do I do? How exactly does this work?" Kanji called out as he saw the others start to stand up. Hitomi had actually told him- as well as the others after they got their persona's- how to use their new powers. Sadly for Kanji, he wasn't really listening.

"Let go of Narukami-chan!" Yosuke demanded, noticing that Shadow Ryo was hugging a visibly uncomfortable Hitomi. Shadow Ryo simply stuck out his tongue at Yosuke and hugged Hitomi tighter, earning a squeak.

Hanamura gritted his teeth as he growled, "Let's make it quick- Jiraiya!" Smashing the blue card that appeared in front of him, Jiraiya appeared behind Yosuke and pointed his index finger at the Shadows. A burst of wind came forth at Jiraiya's command, but instead of destroying the Shadows- it simply died out.

"Wha- what the hell?!" Yosuke exclaimed before Jiraiya picked up his master and moved him out of the way from an upcoming attack. Hitomi, watching her friends fight in discomfort and worry, gasped softly at Yosuke's close escape.

"Hold on, Hanamura!" Histomi called out as she managed to break free from Shadow Ryo.

Hitomi took a deep breath as her card appeared in front of her, ready to break it with both hands. "Perso-"

 **"Try and refrain from interacting with the guests, rabbit"** Shadow Kujikawa said bluntly, grabbing Hitomi's hands and separating them from each other. Her heart began to beat faster when she suddenly felt Shadow Kujikawa lick the left side of Hitomi's neck in a teasing manner. She squirmed in slight fear and discomfort, not appreciating what was happening to her. Nise, who was helping Yosuke and Jiraiya from some of the Shadow's, saw what Shadow Ryo did to Hitomi and growled loudly.

"Pervert!" Nise roared, snow and ice starting to surround Tomoe. Yukiko, summoning her persona, noticed where Hitomi was and gasped.

"Let Hi-chan go!" Yukiko demanded as Konohana Sakuya's feathers began to flicker with flames. Nise and Yukiko demanded their perona's to attack the Shadow with fire and ice- only for the same thing that happened to Jiraiya to happen to them.

Yukiko gasped in surprise and exclaimed, "It propelled our attacks!" Nise growled as Yosuke ran over to them, Jiraiya right behind him.

"Then we gotta step it up!" Nise suggested. Yukiko and Yosuke nodded in agreement and the three pointed towards the Shadow's in front of them. Jiraiya, Tomoe, and Konohana Sakuya all began to slash the Shadows, defeating them with ease. However, more and more kept on coming. Nise clicked his tongue in annoyance as he took a step back.

"Aw man, they keep coming!" Nise muttered, drops of sweat rolling down his jaw.

Shadow Ryo snickered happily at the sight below him, causing Hitomi to grit her teeth. She couldn't just sit there and play the damsel in distress.

"Let me go!" Hitomi demanded as she tried once again- much harder this time- to break free. Shadow Ryo simply wrapped his arms around Hitomi and hugged her close, as if seeking comfort, and rested his chin on her right shoulder.

 **"No~"** Shadow Ryo replied playfully, pulling on her collar with his teeth. Hitomi whimpered at this as she continued to struggle.

Meanwhile, the real Ryo was still on his hands and knees- in the middle of the dancing Shadow Ryo's as they all chanted "real". The real Ryo couldn't comprehend what was happening. Why are there so many him? Why were the others there? Why… Why was he so certain that if he stayed here, he could find out who he really was?

 _He does look like me… They all do. So at least one of them is the real me…_ , Ryo began to think. But he gasped in realization and shook his head.

"No way, this isn't real!" Ryo cried out, covering his ears. He almost thought that one of these… these _imposters_ was him! Shadow Ryo heard the real one and turned around, Hitomi still wrapped in his arms.

 **"Oh, but it is"** Shadow Ryo began as he let go of Hitomi, causing her to squirm and try to free herself. **"You wanted people like this little rabbit to notice you- right?"**

Shadow Ryo cupped Hitomi's chin and pulled her so that she was facing him and said in a mocking tone, " **Lookie, lookie! Everyone come look at me!** " Hitomi squirmed out of his grip and tried to escape, only to get pushed down on her side and held down with a chuckle from Shadow Ryo.

"Stop it, you're wrong!" the real Ryo cried out, gripping his head tightly. "That isn't me at all!" Those words caused Hitomi- who was frantically squirming- to stay put and look at Kujikawa in surprise.

"Kujikawa-san..." Hitomi muttered, feeling pitious for the former idol. His Shadow on the other hand, was _angry_.

 **"You don't think so, huh?!"** Shadow Kujikawa snapped, pushing Hitomi down hard- earning a gasp. **"Then who is the _real you_? Well?! Go on, who is the _real_ you?!" ** Ryo looked up at his Shadow at his words, beads of sweat forming. How… How was he supposed to know who the "real him" was? He has been searching for that answer for the past two years. And still- he doesn't know who he really is.

"The real me… is just..." Ryo muttered as his gaze started to fall downward. Hitomi flinched at this- taking it as a sign of defeat and/or weakness.

"Kujikawa-san, they're all-" Hitomi tried to call out.

 **"Shut up, you! Let _him_ decide for himself!" ** Shadow Ryo growled, slamming Hitomi down head first into the couch. His hands lowered down to her neck and started to squeeze, his un-clipped nails piercing into her skin.

"O-Ow!" Hitomi couldn't help but whimper, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

Yosuke, who had been busy fighting with Nise and Yukiko, heard his partners cry and looked up. Seeing the situation Hitomi was in, Yosuke gritted his teeth.

"Damnit, just _die_ already!" Yosuke growled as he picked up a piece of broken metal and slashed a shadow- dealing damage. Kanji, frustratingly enough, was chasing around his friends and have been trying to get their attention.

"Hey guys, how exactly does this work?! Guys!" Kanji called out to his friend, avoiding danger all the while. But of course, no was listening to him- too busy with the Shadow's. Kanji let out a sigh of frustration when he noticed Berry waving at him from behind a booth. He raised a brow and quickly ran over to her.

"Kanji-kun, I can help you summon your persona" Berry said as Kanji approached her. Kanji blinked in surprise and kneeled down to her level so that he could perfectly hear her instructions. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath and clear your mind- that's how sensei seems to do it! Then, cry out: 'Persona'!" Kanji stared at Berry with a bored look, a bead of sweat rolling down his jaw.

"That makes no sense" Kanji said bluntly.

"Just do it! Do you want to help out or not?!" Berry squeaked, pointing over to their friends.

"Ugh, fine…!" Kanji sighed as he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and and did his best to block out the sounds of chaos. Soon, he was able to clear his mind- enough so to almost fall asleep. But instead of falling asleep… Kanji was able to stay awake and actually heard a name come to him. The name of his persona.

"Oh… I get it now" Kanji muttered in realization as he opened his eyes. Berry blinked in surprise as Kanji stood up with a smirk. "Let's rock." Berry smiled widely as she blushed, thinking that Kanji was very cool as turned around halfway to face the Shadows.

"You're all going down..." Kanji snickered. Taking in a deep breath, an exhausting but refreshing feeling washed over him as a card descending in front of his face. With a smirk, Kanji curled his right hand into a fist and punched the card, shouting- "PERSONA!"

Meanwhile, over with Yosuke, Nise, and Yukiko; they seem to be having some difficulties. Jiraiya, Tomoe, and Konohana Sakuya have been defeating Shadow's left and right; but the enemies keep coming. The trio were tired, sweat dripping from their faces as they panted. They weren't sure how much longer they could keep on going.

Tomoe and Konohana Sakuya, despite their slight exhaustion, went for another Shadow- zooming past Jiraiya who was busy defeating one himself. But as Tomoe and Konohana went for the new Shadow, another one appeared right before them- ready to strike. Before the two could react or for the Shadow to attack- it was suddenly defeated. Surprised, Nise and Yukiko looked at each other in confusion. Then suddenly, the Shadow that Jiraiya was fighting was suddenly defeated as well- a familiar person standing in front of it. Yosuke let out a gasp of surprise as he looked over to where he last saw Kanji. Kanji was standing next to Berry still, arms crossed over his chest.

With a smirk he said, "Sorry for the wait, guys." The trio smiled at their koahi, glad that he was up and helping.

"About time, Kanji!" Nise cherred, giving Kanji a thumbs up and a wink. Kanji smirked at this as he noticed a new wave of Shadow's.

Running towards his senpai's and the new Shadow's, he shouted- "Come on, come on, come on, come on!" Seeing through Take-Mikazuchi ,, Kanji slashed through the enemies with ease- three at a time. The others couldn't help but exclaim in awe at this- since they have been only able to defeat the Shadow's one at a time. Before they knew it, the area was clear of Shadow's.

"Dude, he's awesome! A freakin' bulldozer!" Nise and Yosuke both exclaimed, gaining a new respect for their tough member.

Back over with Ryo, his Shadow, and Hitomi; things have been going down hill. The other Shadow Ryo's aren't dancing anymore as they simply surround him- staring down at the Ryo on his hands and knees. Shadow Ryo was running out of patience by Ryo's silence, his nails starting to draw blood from Hitomi's neck.

 **"So, who exactly _is_ the _real_ Ryo?" ** Shadow Ryo growled, wanting an answer. On cue, all the different Ryo's started to chant- "I'm the real Ryo"- causing Ryo to clutch his head. How was _this_ going to help him decide? He still didn't know. He just...

"I don't know, okay?! I-I don't _know_ who the real me is!" Ryo cried out, slamming his forehead to the ground. Shadow Ryo seemed to have appreciated this answer- his grip on Hitomi's neck becoming gentle.

 **"That's because… _I'm_ the real Ryo" ** Shadow Ryo began with a smirk as he stroked Hitomi's neck wound. **"You see, I am _you_ \- and _you_ are me."** Ryo flinched at this and looked up at his Shadow.

"You're wrong! You aren't me!" Ryo snapped. There was no way that this rude pervert could be the real him. Shadow Ryo smirked at Ryo's denial.

 **"I'm sick and tired of putting on a fake smile and always having to play the _flirt_ " **Shadow Ryo began, causing Ryo to flinch. **"I thought that if even _one_ person could see the real me, I'd be happy. That's why I was happy when this little rabbit came. But then she suddenly betrayed me- she couldn't see the _real_ me. I had to have my revenge. That's why she's going to be the first to see..." **Hitomi and Ryo flinched at this, Hitomi's face becoming pale. Suddenly, all the Ryo's that were surrounding the real Ryo broke away and walked towards the right of the stage where the couch that Shadow Ryo and Hitomi were on flew towards them. Shadow Ryo grabbed Hitomi's waist and flipped her over so that she was laying on her back, Hitomi squirming under his touch. When the couch was low enough, the other Ryo's grab hold of the squirming Hitomi, keeping her still and her eyes wide. Hitomi tried to squirm free from her holders, but they were all too strong- just one Ryo was enough to overpower her. Shadow Ryo smirked as he leaned in close to Hitomi, his hands trailing up his chest to the first button of his transparent dress shirt.

 **"Watch closely now, rabbit. And you'll see the, real, me..."** Shadow Kujikawa purred as he began to unbutton his transparent dress shirt. Hitomi's body trembled as she felt her eyes prick with tears while desperately trying to look away. Something in her cried out- breaking the sound barrier so that no one actually heard anything. But her teammates heard it- they heard her cry loud and clear.

Yosuke gritted his teeth as Jiraiya defeated another Shadow, growling "Damnit... Narukami-chan, hold on."

 **" _That perv's got a world of pain waiting for him_ " **Nise growled threateningly as he popped his knuckles, a Shadow slashed apart by Tomoe as he did so.

The real Ryo stared at his Shadow in disbelief, as the third button was broken free. It's true that Ryo had often been forced to play the flirt- and he hated the fact that for the past two years he hasn't been smiling as genuine as he used to. But he knew… He knew that he would never…

Ryo's hands tightened as he gritted his teeth, and snapped "Stop it already, this is insane! Leave her alone! The _real_ me would never act like this! You…!"

"You're not..." Ryo began, his voice growing- catching the others attention. "THE REAL ME!" At those words, the other Ryo's let go of Hitomi and backed away as Shadow Ryo stopped unbuttoning his shirt with an evil grin.

"He said it!" Yosuke gasped as the last of the Shadows were slained.

"We have to get Hi-chan out of there!" Yukiko urged as she looked at the boys. Yosuke and Nise nodded quickly in agreement and sent their persona's towards the stage. Shadow Ryo glanced over at the others and jumped off the couch- causing it to fly straight for Tomoe and Jiraiya. Hitomi- free from anything and everything- flew off of the couch when it crashed into the large persona's, flying towards the right. Konohana Sakuya and Take-Mikazuchi flew towards Jiraiya and Tomoe to help remove the couch that was pinning them down- and subconsciously Yosuke and Nise. Thankfully, Kanji was in the same direction that Hitomi was falling in and was positioning himself to catch her.

"Got'cha!" Kanji exclaimed as he caught the surprisingly light silver haired upperclassmen.

"Nice catch, Kanji...!" Nise cheered weakly as he and Yosuke sat up, showing a thumbs up.

"Is Hi-chan okay?!" Yukiko called out.

Kanji looked over at Hitomi and asked, "You okay, senpai?" Hitomi didn't answer, she simply hugged Kanji's neck in gratitude before letting go and dropping down, hugging herself. Kanji noticed that her body was trembling violently, as if she was sick with a scorching fever. Kanji clicked his tongue in anger as he looked over to where Shadow Ryo and the real one where at. There was no way he- or the others for that matter- was going to forgive the Shadow for doing this to their leader. Their _friend_. Shadow Ryo was laughing viciously to himself as a dark cloud surrounded him.

 **"And now; here it comes~!"** Shadow Ryo sang as he extended his arms open, the dark cloud engulfing him. When the dark cloud cleared, a technicolor humanoid man dangled upside down from the striptease pole using one leg as its arms swayed, with a fractal mirror as a face.

 **"I am the Shadow… of your _true_ inner-self" ** Shadow Ryo sneered. The real Ryo blinked in surprise at what his imposter had turned into, energy quickly fleeting him.

"What… is that…?" Ryo muttered under his breath, the left side of his body dropping down to the ground.

"Kujikawa-san!" Hitomi called out, catching his attention. Ryo's eyes first met with Hitomi's worried silver ones as she rushed towards him, the others right behind her. Ryo couldn't help but smile sadly at Hitomi's worried eyes, thinking he didn't really deserve to be worried over like this- not after what his Shadow did. But… he couldn't deny the fact that he felt happy for having her worry over him.

"Naru...kami..." Ryo breathed before falling limp on stage. The group all stopped a few feet from the stage, taking notice of the real Ryo's unconsciousness.

Hitomi huffed through her nose as she looked at Nise and Yukiko on her left, instructing "Nise, Yukiko- I want you two on defense. Please protect Kujikawa-san."

"Not my ideal plan, but fine" Nise replied with a nod, frowning a bit.

Yukiko nodded as well and said, "Will do." Hitomi looked over to Yosuke and Kanji and nodded.

They nodded back as Hitomi took a deep breath and looked forward- her card descending down.

Using both hands to crush the card, Hitomi cried out, "Izanagi!" A burst of wind blew over the group as Izanagi appeared behind of Hitomi- quickly leading Jiraiya and Take-Mikazuchi towards Shadow Ryo while Tomoe and Konohana Sakuya flew towards the real Ryo.

 **"Hahah~! I see you~"** Shadow Ryo laughed as he twirled on the pole, dodging Izanagi, Take-Mikazuchi, and Jiraiya's attack with ease. Kanji and Yosuke gasped at this, baffled at how Shadow Ryo was able to do that. Noticing the trouble that the trio were having, Nise had Tomoe drop Ryo over to Berry.

"Berry, keep him safe!" Nise instructed as Tomoe placed the unconscious Ryo down in front of her.

"Okie-dokie!" Berry replied with a firm nod. Nise and Yukiko looked at each and nodded before running off- their persona's flying ahead of them- towards the stage with the others.

 **"You're _sooo_ transparent" ** Shadow Ryo mocked as he danced on the pole, dodging the fire and ice that Tomoe and Konohana Sakuya spewed out.

Nise gasped in surprise as he growled, "This douchebag _dodge_ that?!" Yosuke and Hitomi stared at the technicolored dangliling man, trying to understand it.

Yosuke suddenly gasped and exclaimed, "Wait a sec- is that light…?!"

"Oh, you're right..." Hitomi gasped, realizing something as well. "It's like he's scanning our persona's and see's our attacks!" Shadow Ryo laughed as he twirled off the pole, standing next to it. He pulled on the pole with ease, removing it from the celing and pointed the pole towards our hero's. Hitomi flinched in surprise, realizing the pole wasn't just a normal pole… It's a cannon!

 **"Analysis complete!"** Shadow Ryo laughed. **"Now- time to _counter attack_. See if you can dodge, hmm?"** The others blinked in surprise as they prepared themselves, a ball of bright multicolors formed at the end of the pole, ready to release.

 **"Fire!"** Shadow Ryo shouted as the ball shot out towards the group, earning synced screams from Yosuke, Nise, Yukiko, and Kanji- Hitomi keeping it in. The group all fell to the ground in pain, their persona's glitching from the damage they had taken.

"Oh no, Sensei! Other guys!" Berry squeaked, worried for her friends wellbeing. Ryo, who was unconscious up until a little while ago, glanced over to the group. His eyes immediately fell upon a head of silver hair that laid on the ground.

"Narukami..." Ryo called out weakly as she and Kanji tried to sit up.

Shadow Ryo laughed frantically at the sight, twirling the pole around him. **"Oho, that got you good!"** Yosuke gritted his teeth as he and Nise slowly sat up.

"What… What do we do?!" Yosuke asked, panicked. For once, he and the others were at a situation where this could lead to their deaths. And the thought of death- as well as not being able to catch Saki's killer- terrified him.

Nise looked over to Yosuke and asked jokingly, "Any ideas?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you!" Yosuke snapped.

"Well I don't know either!" Nise snapped back. Neither of them were in the mood.

"Guys, calm down!" Yukiko pleaded, her voice cracking a bit. Yosuke and Nise growled at each other as Hitomi silently stood up to her feet. She had to think of something- and quick. She had to save Ryo, Berry, and the others. It was all up to her- she was the leader.

Shadow Ryo smirked at Hitomi's quivering legs, and cheered, **"Here's another round~!"** Hitomi flinched at his words and summoned Izanagi to help protect her friends. Izanagi- despite his injuries- did as his mistress told him so and flew in front of her, stretching out his arms like he did for Kanji. The multicolored beam shot directly at Izanagi in the stomach, causing Hitomi to cringe as she withstood her ground.

"Narukami-chan!" Yosuke and Yukiko cried out when Hitomi fell to her knees, Izanagi doing the same, her head limp on her shoulders. Berry squeaked at Hitomi's fall, flailing her arms frantically.

"I really 'oughta do something…! I have to help them! But I have no idea what to do!" Berry whined to herself. She began to hit herself on the head as she wailed, "I am so useless! I'm no help to anybody at all!"

Shadow Ryo laughed as he fired another beam, hitting Izanagi. Hitomi held in a cry as her head shot up, visible pain covering her- causing her group members to gasp in worry. The beam caused Izanagi to lose his balance, and was shot to the back- the beam hitting the other persona's. The others let out a cry in pain as Hitomi fell limp to the ground once the beam vanished, Izanagi falling to one knee. The others soon fell limp to the ground as well, struggling to hold themselves up.

 **"Haha! Talk about _lame_!" ** Shadow Ryo sneered. He tapped the pole to the ground, the pole suddenly multiplying to five whole poles and pointed them at the group with both hands.

 **"I think the time has finally come… to get rid of you once and for all"** Shadow Ryo snickered.

Yosuke was covered in sweat as he felt his body tremble, crying out "We're screwed!"

"Does this mean… we're all gonna die?" Yukiko asked, struggling to keep even one eye open.

"No…" Hitomi huffed under her breath as she sat up. As the leader and friends of the others, she couldn't let anyone die.

"Berry, take Kujikawa-san and get out of here, _now_!" Hitomi instructed firmly as she looked over to Berry and the conscious Ryo. Berry and Ryo flinched at this, stunned.

"But, Sensei...! I can't just a-bear-den everybody!" Berry whimpered. "I don't want to wind up all alone again!" Hitomi slowly began to stand up, her arms and legs visibly shaking- catching the other's attention.

"Don't worry, Berry. We'll think of something. I just want you two somewhere safe! I also promised you- I'm not leaving you behind" Hitomi explained, standing up.

"Sensei…!" Berry exclaimed, softly.

"This thing- no, _Ryouta_ -san- is a part of Kujikawa-san..." Hitomi began, facing Shadow Ryo. "And I'm going to prove it, even if it means proving it in the underworld!" Ryo felt his heart skip a beat as he blushed a little, despite his tired state at Hitomi's words.

"Narukami..." Ryo muttered.

 **"Such noble words!"** Shadow Ryo began, in a mocking way. **"But the show has come to a close. Say goodbye~! _Forever_." ** Hitomi lowered her head slightly and glared at her opponent, Izanagi slowly getting up like his mistress. Ryo flinched when his Shadow pointed the five poles directly at Hitomi and her friends. Hitomi stood her ground as her friends flinched in surprise and slight fear.

As the beam of multicolors formed at the end of the poles, Ryo jumped up and cried out, "Stop it!" Shadow Ryo looked over to Ryo, who was standing now- a hand on his heart- glaring at the technicolored monster.

"That's enough, okay?! Just let them be!" Ryo shouted.

 **"You annoying piece of shit…"** Shadow Ryo growled, pointing the five poles towards him and Berry. **"You're the first to... What?"** Ryo blinked in surprise at the sudden silence his Shadow was having. Confused, he looked down and saw Berry standing in front of him, her arms spread out in a protective way.

"Berry!" Hitomi called out, realizing the danger that she was in.

Berry blinked in surprise at Hitomi's voice realizing her positioning and said out loud, "Huh? Wh-Why am I stepping forward?"

 **"The hell? Th-This high-energy reading..."** Shadow Ryo muttered to himself, seeming nervous.

"I-I feel like I'm going bear-serk!" Berry exclaimed, her little paws taking shaky steps forward. She was scared… But it wasn't going to get in her way of saving her friends. Berry's hands gripped into fists as she nodded to herself.

"RAWR! I don't know what's happening!" Berry roared, a little more on the cute side rather than threatening. "But take a good look… at Berry's last stand!" Berry suddenly sprinted forward towards Shadow Ryo, causing him to flinch- readjusting his grip on the five poles.

 **"St-Stay back!"** Shadow Ryo warned nervously as the beam charged up.

"No, don't do it!" Yosuke called out, worried for the bear's wellbeing. The beam fired directly at Berry, causing Hitomi to run forward- only to fall after two steps due to the damage she took.

"Berry!" Hitomi called out, stretching her arm towards the beam. She suddenly gasped, noticing that the beam had started to split into two- Berry being the cause of it. The others gasped in surprise at this as Berry continued forward, only a mere few feet from Shadow Ryo.

" **The system is overloaded!** " Shadow Ryo cried out when Berry let out a war cry, jumping towards him- the room becoming bright.

"BERRY!" everyone, besides from Ryo, cried out before covering their eyes from the blight light.

When the bright light vanished, everyone gasped in surprise and ran towards the stage, climbing up on it. There, near the edge, was Berry- flattened like a two dimensional character. Shadow Ryo was at the center of the stage, surrounded by the five poles, lying unconscious.

"Grizzly..." Berry muttered weakly.

"Oh, Berry..." Hitomi sighed, getting down to her knees.

"Crazy ass bear..." Kanji muttered as he sighed. "You coulda died."

"Yeah, but… was Berry a helpful bear?" Berry asked with a smile.

Yosuke huffed in frustration as he crossed his arms over his chest, saying "You were more than just helpful… you saved our _lives_!"

"Yeah, you were awesome!" Nise complimented, getting down on one knee next to Hitomi.

"I'm sure Nise wouldn't mind going out with you for a day" Yukiko offered, causing Nise to look at her in shock, a bead of sweat tracing his jaw.

"I'm so glad… I didn't want to be alone anymore..." Berry said weakly, with a rather cheerful tone. Ryo, despite his weak strength, wobbled over to Berry and blinked in surprise.

"You saved me..." Ryo pointed out, catching the other's attention.

"Hehe, well..." Berry began with a giggle as Hitomi and Nise stood up. "I know how you feel and how much it hurts when you don't know for sure who you really are." Ryo blinked in surprise at this.

"So then… you don't know who you really are, either?" Ryo asked, wanting to confirm it.

"Yep!" Berry confirmed cheerfully, causing Ryo to blink in surprise. "But the others have shown me that you don't have to worry about it alone- it hurts your brain. So, you and me- we can figure it out together!" Ryo flinched in surprise at this, feeling rather happy.

"You and me…?" Ryo repeated.

"Yeah! That is, if you don't mind. Sensei and the others can help too! They're helping me, anyways" Berry pointed out, causing Ryo to look over to the others. Hitomi nodded in agreement, catching Ryo's attention. He felt his eyes water at the sight of her- his face becoming slightly red.

"Uh..." Ryo began, looking away to blink away his upcoming tears. He was so utterly moved that even with everything he said to Hitomi, she was still willing to help him.

Ryo looked back at the others and nodded, apologizing "I'm sorry I put all of you through this- especially you, Narukami." Everyone blinked in realization at this, remembering the things Hitomi had been through. Unconsciously, Hitomi touched the back of her neck and winced. Looking at her hand, she saw blots of blood on her fingers. It was just like the prince Shadow from Yukiko's castle...

Hitomi sighed and shook her head, looking up at Ryo and said "No harm done. I've been through worse. Look, just take it easy for now." Ryo flinched at Hitomi's words, his heart skipping a beat yet again. Her silver eyes were rich with worry and forgiveness, not even a _speck_ of anger in them.

 _She really is a strange girl…_ , Ryo thought to himself, a small weak smile forming on his lips.

"Heh… It's been a long, _long_ time since someone said that to me. You really are something" Ryo chuckled weakly, causing Hitomi's eyes to light up with happiness. Ryo felt a little better at the sight, looking up at the others.

"You guys really went through hell, huh?" Ryo joked weakly, pointing out the clothes everyone was wearing. Immediately, Hitomi and Yukiko became rather embarrassed- Kanji starting to sulk once again. Ryo turned towards his Shadow- who was awake now, while still laying on the ground- and walked towards him.

"Here, stand up" Ryo instructed, offering his hand. Shadow Ryo frowned sadly, but took Ryo's hand. "I'm sorry… You must've been in a lot of pain up to now" Ryo began, as he helped his Shadow up. "Look, I… I fought so hard just to try and figure out who the 'real me' truly is. When I realized- no amount of searching is going to help… 'Cause there was no real me to find." Berry blinked in surprise at this as she slowly sat up, which was rather easy despite her current flat figure.

"Does that mean… there's no real me either?" Berry muttered softly to herself, so that the others wouldn't hear her.

"But now I know. I finally figured it out- with Narukami's help" Ryo continued, a small smile on his face. "You… me… even Ryouta… They were all born from me. All of them are… _me_." Shadow Ryo smiled and nodded in gratitude. He was happy that he was finally accepted… that he was no longer just a face to the public. That he was real. Shadow Ryo dissolved into blue, taking shape of a new figure- one that the others couldn't help but gasp at. A tall man with a large satellite for a head, holding some sort of head device, while wearing a lovely white suit with a flowing white cape bathed in the blue light. Ryo blinked in surprise at Shadow Ryo's new appearance, a card descending down in front of him.

"Whoa, what's this…?" Ryo asked with a gasp. Hitomi walked over to him as the card dissolved into Ryo, earning a relieved sigh.

"That Kujikawa-san… is your persona" Hitomi replied, catching his attention.

"Perso...na…?" Ryo repeated, his words slurred halfway through as he suddenly dropped down.

"Kujikawa-san!" Hitomi cried out, catching the tall boy in her arms, falling down with him. Nise felt himself get annoyed at this, not appreciating how nice Hitomi was being. Yosuke on the other hand was too impressed to realize the true problem with the situation.

"Whoa, talk about an ideal pose! I bet girls would flock over any guy who catches a fainting girl like that!" Yosuke exclaimed, a strange sparkle surrounding him. Nise glared a fiery look at Yosuke while being held back by Yukiko, Kanji looking at Yosuke with a bored look.

"You know Yosuke-senpai, with each word that comes outta your mouth- the further away you become from getting a real girlfriend or being liked by _any_ girl at all" Kanji commented, bluntly. Yosuke froze at Kanji's comment, his words acting like a dagger. Hitomi blinked in surprise at the copper haired boy in her arms and looked over her shoulder to her friends.

"He just completely passed out..." Hitomi explained.

"Well, who could blame him?" Nise sighed, releasing his anger.

"I think that all of us..." Yukiko began as she looked over to everyone's persona's, removing herself from Nise. "...are pretty exhausted."

"Yeah, I'm spent too…" Yosuke agreed, realizing his sudden exhaustion.

"Let's get going- I wanna get out of this thing" Kanji quickly added, tugging at his fox ears. If he had to be honest with himself, he actually found the fox ears and tail really cute...

"Alright then, let's get going. I'm worried about-" Nise began.

 **"Real? Me?"** a distorted version of a familiar voice interrupted, catching the group's attention. **"There is no _real_ me. No _true_ self." ** Everyone stared in disbelief at the strange, glowing creature standing behind Berry. It looked exactly like Berry, but with black eye-sockets and yellow glowing eyes. She was also a lot taller than Berry.

"Wh-What's going on? Wh-Who said that?!" Berry asked, becoming nervous from her friends stares. Berry noticed that they weren't staring at her- but rather _behind_ her.

Berry turned around and squeaked, "Wah! What the heck is that?!"

"Aw, balls..." Kanji muttered in exhaustion. Looks like he's going to be wearing these shameful clothing for a little while longer.

 **"** D-Don't tell me… Is that freaky thing Berry's other self- her hidden thoughts?! **"** Nise asked, causing the others ti gasp in surprise. Hitomi, who was still holding the unconscious Ryo, stared at Berry's other self- sensing something. She didn't know why, but a shiver crawled up her spine.

"Hold on… something feels strange..."Hitomi pointed out, causing the others to be on their guard.

 **"Such idiotic FOOLISHNESS!"** the other Berry began, widening her arms as if accepting something. **"You see, the truth is unattainable. It will _always_ be shrouded in fog." ** Suddenly, thick fog filled the room- the other Berry being the cause of it.

"Whoa, where'd all this fog come from?" Nise exclaimed, instinctively grabbing Yukiko's hand.

"What the-?!" Yosuke exclaimed, stunned by the sudden fog. Hitomi closed her right eye to adjust her sight, noticing that the other Berry had transformed itself into a different form- one much larger and frightening than before.

 **"I am a Shadow, of your _true_ inner self" ** the other Berry introduced, causing Hitomi to flinch in surprise. This… is Berry's Shadow.

Shadow Berry's new form still looked the same from earlier, but had two giant holes in her face that exposed nothing but darkness. Shadow Berry started to scratch at the ground with it's enormous claw- the ground breaking under its touch. In fear, everyone besides from the unconscious Ryo and the weak Hitomi ran towards safety, their persona's flying off towards safety as well. Izanagi, despite his worn out state, picked up his mistress and Ryo before flying off. He couldn't go very far with them in his arms, and ended up placing them only a few feet away from the ruined stage. Hitomi nodded thanks to Izanagi and silently instructed him to look over their friends to which he obeyed and flew over to where the others were.

 **"Though you reach through the murk and the gloom to grasp something, you have no means to know it is the truth…"** Shadow Berry sneered as she continued to scratch. **"This world is filled with thick, heavy fog... More _lies_..."**

Suddenly, a strong breeze began to such anything and everything into it's right eye, causing the gang to hold onto something. The others were holding onto a steel wired stand that led up to the lights above them. Hitomi was tightly holding Ryo's body, who had started to regain consciousness.

"Shit, she's gonna pull us in!" Nise shouted as he felt the steel wired stand slowly inch towards the wind.

 **"So knowing that… What sense is there in yearning for truth? Close your eyes. Lie to yourself. Live in blissful ignorance… It is a much smarter way to exist"** Shadow Berry suggested, her purple and blue eyes locking with Berry's. Berrying, being the flat two-dimensional shape she is now, slipped from the steel wire stand that she was hanging from and was quickly floating towards Shadow Berry's dark hole.

"BERRY!" Yosuke cried out as Berry vanished in the dark void.

 **"This world is filled with thick, heavy fog… How can you find something when you know not what you search for?"** Shadow Berry asked. **"The truth you seek will _only_ bring you _suffering_!" ** Hitomi flinched at her words, finding them strange. It's true that the truth can bring pain to oneself… But it is much better than losing your sanity by believing in something that wasn't even real.

"The… The truth has to exist!" Hitomi replied loudly to Shadow Berry. Shadow Berry scoffed at this, finding Hitomi's words foolish.

 **"Obtaining the truth is simple. All you have to do is believe that it is the truth… So, let me impart one bit of truth on you..."** she began, glaring at Hitomi and then the others. **"You are all going to _die_."**

The breeze suddenly became stronger, causing even the floor tiles to get ripped off and fly towards Shadow Berry. One of the steel wired stands creaked and fell towards Hitomi and Ryo who were struggling to stay still. Noticing the steel stand, Hitomi pushed Ryo to the ground and covered him with her body, the metal stand missing them. Ryo, worried about Hitomi being flown away, held onto her waist and pulled her closer to him. The two blushed for a split second at the positioning and clothing Hitomi was wearing, but Ryo quickly brushed it off as he looked at Hitomi's eyes.  
"Narukami, I have an idea" Ryo said, causing her to suddenly become serious and not embarrassed.

"Huh? You do?" Hitomi asked.

Ryo nodded and said, "Just hold Ichijo so that he doesn't get pulled in."

"What? 'Ichijo'?" Hitomi repeated, blinking in confusion.

"Yeah, he's my persona" Ryo explained. Ryo smiled reassuringly when he noticed the hint of worry in Hitomi's eyes. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. It's my turn to save you all." Hitomi stared at Ryo for a bit, pressing her lips together.

"…Alright, fine" Hitomi sighed in defeat. She looked over to where Izanagi was and called out to him, silently. Izanagi flinched at his master's voice, immediately flying towards her and Ryo. He was still weak from the previous battle however, and was having trouble flying straight to Hitomi.

"I need to stand up for this..." Ryo instructed, catching Hitomi's attention. She nodded in understanding and helped him stand up, gripping onto a slightly tilted steel stand for support while holding Ryo by the waist.

"Do you know what to do, Kujikawa-san?" Hitomi asked. Ryo nodded.

"I have a pretty good feeling… Ichijo's telling me what to do" he replied, looking forward to Shadow Berry. Ichijo was telling him everything… How he needed to relax, how to stay calm, and how to trust him.

Once Ryo was relaxed, he took a deep breath and reached out towards the card, with a fist below his chin. He looked as if he was about to sing and reach out towards the crowd. Crushing the card with his left hand, he called out calmly, "Persona!" Ichijo appeared behind Ryo and carefully pace the head device onto Ryo. Shortly after, Izanagi arrived and stabbed his sword into the ground before wrapping an arm around Ichijo's shoulders.

"Ichijo..." Ryo muttered under his breath. Ichijo understood and scanned Shadow Berry, taking in as much information as he could. So far, everything seemed lost- as if there was nothing there to scan. But Ichijo was able to pick up on Berry's location, and soon another presence.

"There's something else in there- besides Berry!" Ryo pointed out. Hitomi's grip tightened on Ryo's waist.

"What is it?" she asked. A bead of sweat fell from Ryo's forehead as he strained to see through the fog. "I-I can't tell… the fog's too thick for me to analyze it" Ryo explained, letting out a slightly strained sigh.

"Fog..." Hitomi repeated. It makes sense… Only the fog deepens. Hitomi looked up at Shadow Berry, glaring at it.

"Berry has to clear the fog on her own. Kujikawa-san, let me know the _instant_ it starts to lighten up!" Hitomi instructed. Ryo relaxed a little and nodded in reply.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, with Berry…_**

Berry blinked in surprise as she stared at her fog covered surroundings. There was nothing as far as she could see- just fog. Berry looked down and gasped in pleasant surprise- happy to see that her fur was back in full bloom. But Berry quickly dismissed her joy as she looked around once again.

"What is this place…?" Berry asked herself. She then exclaimed in surprise when she saw her other self there as well. "Wah! You're here too!" Shadow Berry said nothing as the floor that Berry was standing on became liquid, slowly swallowing Berry- earning a squeak.

 **"This is where you will fade to _nothing_..." ** Shadow Berry explained.

"What the heck is this place?! NOOOOOOOO!" Berry screamed, tears welling up in her eyes.

Shadow Berry watched Berry squirm, saying **"You were _nothing_ to begin with."**

Berry flinched at this and squeaked, "Nothing?!"

 **"You have 'no memories' of your past. You are empty. At your core, you know this… You just cannot accept it. So you seeked an alternate form… a denial of your nature. If you have forgotten anything, it is this truth"** Shadow Berry explained, causing Berry's eyes to widen. **"Your existence is nothing more than a-"**

"I'm not listening!" Berry screamed, interrupting Shadow Berry. "I'll find the answers myself and you can't stop me!"

 **"There are no answers to find..."** Shadow Berry warned, as she and Berry continued to sink into the ground.

"I'll keep looking anyway!" Berry squeaked with determination, causing them to stop sinking. "See, I might be empty- or _hollow_ as that meanie Yosuke likes to say- but I'm not a useless bear!" Berry felt herself smile as she recalled the praise she received from Yosuke and Nise. Yosuke was often mean to her, calling her hollow and 'bear', but he was still her friend. She knew that he was a nice guy- they just got off on the wrong foot.

"I don't want to be lost… I don't want to leave 'em… I won't leave Sensei and my friends!" Berry announced, tears welling up in her eyes.

 **"You chose _this_?" ** Shadow Berry asked, slightly baffled. **"Even though you know your quest for answers will cause you pain?! You're choice is incomprehensible."** Berry growled as threateningly as she could, only to sound harmless as usual.

* * *

 _Back with the others..._

Ryo flinched in surprise and announced "Narukami, the fog is starting to light up!" Hitomi glanced over to Ryo the back over to Shadow Berry, her grip tightening as Ryo scanned once more.

"I found it- it's just below her chest!" Ryo pointed out.

Hitomi nodded as she glanced over to her friends, noticing that some of them were starting to lose their grip, whispering "Hold on guys…"

Izanagi removed his sword from the ground at Hitomi's command and allowed himself to be whisked away by the wind. As Izanagi got closer and closer to the Shadow, Izanagi pulled his sword back and raised it above his head- the tip facing down. Just before getting swallowed up Izanagi plunged his sword deep into the spot Ryo had pointed out. Hitomi the extended one arm towards Izanagi and gripped something imaginary, like the nub of a sward and twisted it. Izanagi followed this action and twisted his sword to the left before realising his sword and jumping away. The Shadow let out a piercing scream as the wind quickly began to die down, the fog quickly vanishing. The Shadow soon began to crumble into pieces, as if it was nothing more than dirt.

"It just… stopped" Kanji muttered, confused and yet amazed as he and the others relaxed. Hitomi and Ryo slowly fell to their knees in exhaustion as Ichijo disappeared at Ryo's command. She stared at Shadow Berry as it continued to dissolve, wondering how and _why_ it told them to live in bliss. Hitomi shuddered when she came in contact with the blue and purple eye, something ominus filling her. She didn't know why, but she became… slightly scared.

Once the Shadow disappeared, the broken ground it was standing on vanished as the creepy version of Berry reappeared in it's place. Hitomi gasped softly in surprise when she noticed that Berry was laying on the ground, not too far from the Shadow.

"Berry!" Kanji called out as he and the others, besides from Hitomi and Ryo who were wobbling towards the stage, climbed up on stage.

"Berry, are you alive?!" Yosuke asked, slightly panicked. Berry let out a soft groan as she sat up, noticing her fur.

"Hey, how am I a flaty now?! What happened to my bear-tiful fur?!" Berry squeaked, flapping her two-dimensional hands.

"She's clearly not going to keel over any time soon" Yosuke deadpanned, surprised at the fact that he was actually _worried_ over her.

"It's hard to believe that even Berry had a part of herself that she kept from everyone..." Nise exclaimed softly, surprised and concerned. Berry blinked at this and turned around, noticing her Shadow back in her normal form, staring at her with vacant eyes. Berry frowned at the sight of her, knowing the truth.

"...It's sad," Berry began, as she stood up. "Not knowing who you are… And this whole time, I was afraid if I _did_ look, I might not find any answers at all." Hitomi and Ryo finally reached the stage helping each other get up as Berry nodded firmly to herself.

"But even if I didn't find what I wanted, I'm still here! And I'm still beary much alive!" Berry declared. Ryo smiled a little at Berry's words, understanding her completely.

"Yeah, I'm with you" Ryo agreed, catching Berry's attention- causing her to turn around.

"You totally get me!" Berry sighed dreamily, happy that someone understood her so well.

Ryo chuckled weakly and nodded, saying "Let's find our true selves together." Hitomi looked over to Berry and nodded.

"Berry, you are _far_ from alone" she reassured.

"Aw, Sensei…!" Berry whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yeah, why not! We'll help ya look for your answers, Berry- even though you give me so much smack. You're part of the team after all" Yosuke agreed, his smile directed at her for the first time. Berry stared wide eyed at Yosuke in surprise, blushing a little as a single tear fell. The others nodded in agreement at Yosuke, Hitomi, and Ryo's words- also willing to help Berry.

"Y-Yosuke, everyone…! Thank you!" Berry whimpered, the tears streaming down her flat face. Using her flat hands, Berry wiped her tears away and wailed, "Berry is such a lucky little bear!" Hitomi felt a warm feeling wash over her at Berry's tears, her lips twitching.

Noticing something, Hitomi gasped "Ah, Berry- look..." Berry blinked at Hitomi's words and turned around. Shadow Berry was smiling- her feet covered in blue light- before getting engulfed by the light and transforming into a new figure. Shadow Berry had transformed into a cute white stuffed bear holding a mini version of a missile inside of a red boiler with a transparent front and back, a blue cape flowing behind the boiler. The side of the boiler had arms and legs, which moved in sync to the stuffed white bear. A name came into Berry's mind as the new figure disappeared and turned into a card- dissolving into Berry.

"Kintoki-Douji? Wha-?! I-I have my own persona now?!" Berry squeaked, turning around to face Hitomi.

"I feel tremendous power coming from it" Ryo pointed out with a weak smile. "Isn't that great, Berry?"

Berry giggled as she blushed, nodding while saying "Hehe! It's beary, _beary_ good! Thanks Ryo-kun!" Ryo smiled in reply, falling a little- only to be caught by Hitomi.

"Alright, now that everything is set and done- let's get out of here. Kujikawa-san's persona just awakened too. Also, I'm not a big fan of purple anymore" Hitomi said, glancing around the room. This place will only bring her bad memories. The others, besides from Berry, Ryo, and Hitomi suddenly blinked in realization and looked at Ryo.

"Oh right! We have a score to settle with you, Ryo-kun!" Yukiko announced with a strangely cold smile.

Ryo shuddered at Yukiko's smile, sweat dripping down his face as he asked "H-Huh?"

"You did some pretty bad stuff to Hi-chan… We can't allow you to just walk out of here fine and dandy, now can we?" Yukiko giggled coldly, her face somehow looking rather dark as she and the boys took a step forward towards him. Berry tugged on Hitomi, causing her and Ryo to remove themselves from each other.

"Get ready to have your shit _rocked_ " Kanji growled, popping his fists and neck. Ryo was sweating bullets at this rate, blinking rapidly in fear.

"Wa-Wait, guys! Th-That was my other self, remember?! Not me!" Ryo explained. Hitomi and Berry were frozen in place at the scene in front of them- stunned at how evil their friends were acting.

"But he was a part of you. Just shut up and take responsibility" Nise said bluntly as he raised his left leg in a kicking positioning.

Ryo's face paled as Kanji and Yosuke smirked, "Wait… DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON'T!"

* * *

Hitomi's POV

"How are you feeling, Kujikawa-san?" I asked as I helped Ryo walk.

"Bad… I still can't feel my arms..." Kujikawa grumbled weakly, his head limply hanging from his neck. He was in pretty bad shape after the others had beaten him up. We were all changed back into our uniforms- much to our comfort- and was back at the T.V set where the exit was.

"If those hands go any lower, we're doing round two" Hanamura warned, causing Kujikawa to flinch. I huffed softly in disapproval and looked at the others firmly.

"Knock it off, you guys. You really didn't have to beat him up like that" I huffed. Nise gawked at my words and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you kidding? After what his Shadow did and _could_ have done to you?! Nuh-uh" Nise said simply, eyeing Kujikawa. Yukiko walked over to Kujikawa and me and smiled- warmly, unlike before.

"Think of it as a fresh start, Hi-chan. Now, none of us hate him" Yukiko explained, patting Kujikawa gently on the shoulder.

"Just as long as he doesn't do anythin' stupid from now on" Kanji warned. He then looked over to Berry, who was facing away from us, and called out "Hey, Berry- you okay there? We gotta go back for now..." Berry didn't turn around at his words, staring in the direction we had just come from.

"I'll be fine. I wanna be alone for a while, anyways" Berry said simply. We all flinched at her words, translating them as a bad sign.

"H-Hey..." Hanamura stuttered as he took a step forward to her.

Berry suddenly turned around and squeaked "My bear-tiful fur is all rough and coarse and my nose hasn't been working well either!" We blinked in surprise at Berry's words as she flapped her arms. She then suddenly got down to the ground and laid on her back.

"So! At least until my fur grows back, I'm gonna do nothing but _bea_ ry myself in training!" Berry explained as she started to do curl-ups.

"Wha-What's gotten into you…?" Hanamura asked as he took several steps, joining the group.

"You guys should wait until I make my comeback! It's gonna be a major event!" Berry cheered, in between grunts. "And you'll be _begging_ for my help again!"

"Huh. Bear's got balls" Kanji said with a smirk. Nise looked over at him, a bead of sweat rolling down his jaw.

"Uh, I don't really think that she want's to hear that..." Nise muttered. Kujikawa looked over to Berry and blinked in surprise before smiling weakly.

"I believe in you, Berry" Kujikawa encouraged.

"Keep it up" I added as Kujikawa and I glanced at each other then back at Berry.

"Thanks Ryo-kun, Sensei!" Berry giggled, without stopping. With that, I looked over to the others and nodded. They nodded back and one by one exited the T.V World. Kujikawa and I were the last ones, right after I had grabbed Kujikawa's manga without him looking.

* * *

When we exited the television, stepping out into the Junes electronic's department, Kujikawa let out a confused gasp.

"Whoa, where are we…?" Kujikawa asked.

"Junes electronics department" I replied. Kujikawa blinked a few times in confusion before nodding with an understanding look.

"Okay… Okay, makes sense" Kujikawa hummed, looking around. Hanamura looked over to us and nodded.

"Wait here, I'll go get our stuff" he explained before running off to the counter.

Once we had retrieved all our school bags, I stuffed Kujikawa's manga into my bag while he wasn't looking. Kujikawa was clearly exhausted after what he had endured today. Despite this, he was still a boy and was able to stand on his own.

"I'll take him home. I promised his grandmother I would. You all should go home and get some rest" I said as I looked to the others. I looked over to Kujikawa and placed my hand on his back, causing him to place a hand on my right shoulder to support him.

"Alright, take care" Yukiko said with a nod.

"Watch your hands, Ryo" Kanji warned, walking past us. I felt Kujikawa shudder slightly before nodding in reply.

Once everyone had left the department, Kujikawa and I started to make our way to the North Side of the Central Shopping district. Halfway to Marukyu, Kujikawa started to chuckle weakly.

"Man, you have some pretty colorful friends there… I don't think any of my friends back in the city would beat up someone like that for me" Kujikawa chuckled. I blinked in surprise at his words before looking forward, a warm feeling washing over me.

"Yeah, well… they're all crazy" I joked.

"...or just lacking manners, right?" Kujikawa asked, playfully. I felt something tickle my throat as I nodded.

"Yeah… maybe" I replied, causing Kujikawa to chuckle.

"...You know," Kujikawa began, catching my attention. "I'm glad I came to this town."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah… I feel like I really belong here and can do good" Kujikawa admitted.

"That's good to hear… I'm glad that I came to this town too" I admitted as well, earning a chuckle. It was true though… I really am glad I came here. I have never had so many people who cared so much for me. Not after the incidents and "Hachi". If I never came here… Then I'd probably forget what it was like to feel happy.

* * *

When we arrived at Marukyu Tofu, Kujikawa and I entered the shop- Kujikawa's grandmother immediately stepping out from behind the blue curtain.

"Ryo-chan!" she exclaimed upon the sight of him. I let go of Kujikawa so that he could hug his grandmother, the two walking towards each other.

"Grandma..." Kujikawa greeted with a weak smile, opening his arms wide for a hug. But instead of a hug like he wanted, Kujikawa's grandmother shoved a block of frozen tofu into Kujikawa's face.

"You fool!" his grandmother screeched.

"OW!" Kujikawa exclaimed as he held his face. I felt my mouth dangle in shock at what had just happened. I would never have thought that this nice old lady would be so… violent when angry.

Kujikawa's grandmother grabbed Kujikawa by the ear and pulled him down to her height, shouting in her raspy voice, "Do you have any idea how worried I was, young man?! I called the police on a missing person which was a burden on us and them! You have a lot of explaining to do!"

"I, uh... " Kujikawa squeaked, quickly clearing his voice. "Sorry, grandma… A lot happened and… I'm pretty tired." Kujikawa's grandmother didn't seemed amused and was ready to give another lecture.

"Do you have a first aid kit on you, ma'am?" I interrupted, catching her attention. She blinked in confusion at first before looking over to Kujikawa and gasped.

"Oh my, you're covered in cuts and bruises!" his grandmother gasped. She immediately let go of Kujikawa's ear and ran behind the blue curtain. Kujikawa sighed in exhaustion as he looked over at me, drops of sweat rolling down his jaw. Minutes later, Kujikawa's grandmother returned with a stool and a first aid kit.

Placing the stool down for Kujikawa to sit on, she asked "Just what happened to you?"

"I found him like this at the Junes electronic's department" I explained as Kujikawa's grandmother pulled out some cotton balls and isopropyl.

"Oh my… Did a stalker do this to you, Ryo-chan?" his grandmother asked, opening the bottle of isoptopyl and dipping it on the cotton balls.

"Uh… you can say that" Kujikawa replied as sweat dripped down his face. I felt something tickle my throat at his comment, pressing my lips together.

"How horrible. I should call the police about this and tell them that you're no longer missing- but attacked! This could be an attempt from that killer going about here!" his grandmother huffed, sounding more angry than a dragon as she roughly wiped the injuries on Kujikawa's forehead.

"Ow, grandma…!" Kujikawa exclaimed, wincing. "Don't talk when you wipe my head like that. We know how you get when you talk and treat..." Kujikawa's grandmother gasped and stopped at comman, becoming a bit gentler.

"Sorry, Ryo-chan. I'm just so angry!" his grandmother huffed. I felt my lips twitch at the sight of grandson and grandmother. Thinking that I was out of place, I cleared my throat- catching their attention.

"Well, I better get going. I've returned your grandson to you like I promised" I said with a bow.

"Thank you so much… I'm sorry for all the trouble" his grandmother thanked, a smile so gentle it felt like I was being hugged.

"It's no trouble at all" I reassured, shaking my hand in front of my face in a dismissive manner.

"Do you want me to call your guardian to come and pick you up?" his grandmother offered.

"Oh, don't worry. It's not that far, I can walk from here" I reassured.

"See ya, Narukami..." Kujikawa said with a small smile as his grandmother nodded goodbye. I nodded goodbye as well and turned around- only to stop halfway through.

"Oh wait" I exclaimed, opening my bag. I pulled out Kujikawa's manga and walked over to him, offering it to him. "Kujikawa-san… here. I think this belongs to you." Kujikawa's eyes widened at the sight of it- his face becoming cherry red.

"Ah…! Wh-Why do you have this?!" Kujikawa asked, looking up at me.

"I let her borrow it" his grandmother explained with a smile. Kujikawa gasped in shock and looked at her.

"G-Grandma! You know that I'm embarrassed about having this!" Kujikawa whimpered before looking back over to me. "I-It's not mine! I, uh, i-it was my mom's and she gave it to me like a hand-me-down to read if I got bored! N-N-Not that I _do_ read it or anything-"

"The others already know about it, Kujikawa-san" I interrupted, placing the manga down in his hands. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." Kujikawa blinked rapidly in surprise at my words as I nodded goodbye once again turning around to leave the shop. I heard Kujikawa's grandmother chuckle as I opened the door, the corner of my lips twitching. I really, truly am glad that I came to this town… I keep on meeting more and more people here.

People that I know will be the bestest of friends.

...

...

...

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading this story all the way up to this point! As of today, 11/18/16, the process of updating the story will take a very _very_ long time. I hope that you will all be patient with me and stick around until the very end.


	17. Awaiting Ryo

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair.

"Hello there, and welcome to the Velvet Room" the woman with platinum-blonde hair, known as Margaret, next to the long-nosed man greeted. This threw Hitomi off a bit since the long-nosed man, known as Igor, was usually the one who would greet her upon arrival.

"Your most recent battle was a fierce one. You overcame it and formed yet another new bond- it is the lovers arcana" Margaret said as a card showing a large purple heart, thorned vines wrapping around it, with two figures on each side of it, descended in front of Margaret; dissolving into the old book on her lap. The ragged book grew a light blue, as if becoming one with the card, and Margaret opened it up. There, on one of the pages was a moving picture of Hitomi talking with a red face Ryo.

"I have no doubt that it's powers will be of great assistance to you. Ah, the lovers..." Margaret sighed, dreamily.

She looked over to Hitomi and smiled a little, saying "If taken into moderation, romance can bloom in ways that enrich the heart. But taken to access…" Hitomi blinked in surprise as Margaret's expression suddenly turned cold- her yellow eyes filled with nothing but anger.

"It will prick you and make you bleed" Margaret warned. A bead of sweat rolled down Hitomi's jaw as she blinked rapidly in surprise. This was the first time she had ever seen the platinum-blonde haired woman express such emotions. Igor rolled his eyes at Margaret's words.

"Now then" Igor began, catching Hitomi's attention, "Until we meet again." Hitomi nodded and slowly closed her eyes as her vision began to blur- darkness engulfing the room.

* * *

 ** _Saturday, June 25th_ | _After school…_**

Hitomi's POV

The day went by pretty normally for me. And with Kujikawa's safety in my mind, I didn't have anything to worry about either. Although, the rest of the school was buzzing about Kujikawa and how he was "attacked" by a crazy fan. The others and I of course knew that wasn't the case. During lunch, Yukiko ate with me because she was worried of my neck injury which I treated and patched with a square band aid. It makes me happy and a bit shy to have someone as pretty and nice as Yukiko worried so for my wellbeing. It's a bit foreign to me, honestly. But I'm glad that she's my friend.

Once school was over, I found myself walking besides Nise to the Chinese Restaurant- Aiya. We sat together on the stools connected to the counter and we ordered a simple meal of steak and rice. I had finished my food and stared at Nise as he devoured his second bowl.

"Mmmm… The meat and rice just _flow_ through my veins…!" Nise joked as he swallowed the food in his mouth. I felt something tickle my throat as the corners of my lips twitched.

"You look happy" I commented, catching his attention. Nise laughed sheepishly as he began to pick at his food.

"On the happiness scale, it's up there with watching action movies…" Nise sighed, as if drifting into a blissful reverie, before taking another bite.

"I need to work hard and pump myself up, or else I can't pull us out of a jam, right?" Nise began as he swallowed.

His expression suddenly then turned serious as he looked down at his near finished meal, muttering "Especially Yukiko… I need to be able to protect her..." I couldn't help but stare at Nise in slight interest. The two are really close to one another and show signs that they've been friends since childhood. It must be nice… It reminds me of my relationship with Senpai.

"It's nice how much you two care for each other" I commented, causing Nise to blink in surprise.

"Well, I guess it's a given when you know someone for ten years" Nise chuckled. I blinked in surprise, amazed that they've known each other for so long… It's incredible. I've only known Senpai for 5 years.

Nise looked down at his bowl once again, a strained smile on his face, and weakly said "...I hope she's not straining herself. Makes you worry, huh?"

"I'll look out for her as well" I reassured. Nise looked over at me in surprise as he took another bite, quickly swallowing it.

"Haha, thanks… That's what makes you the leader" Nise chuckled, seeming relieved. I was relieved myself by his reaction. I prefer this Nise a lot more than a worried or sad one.

"It doesn't bother you?" I decided to ask, remembering his Shadow. Nise hummed as he scooped up the remaining meat and rice in his bowl. He took the bite and glanced over at me, a tinge of pink dusting his cheeks. Nise looked away once again as he chewed, a tiny smile on his lips.

"Well… no, actually. You don't really seem all that bossy and whatnot. When you give an order, I'm like, 'okay, no problem!'" Nise explained after swallowing his food. I felt my lips twitch at his words, a warm feeling washing over me.

"You're becoming stronger if you feel that way, Nise-kun" I pointed out, causing Nise to freeze. He sighed softly though his nose as he placed his wooden chopsticks on top of his bowl. I couldn't help but blink in concern at this, wondering what was wrong.

"No, not really" Nise sighed. "I still get a little angry whenever I pass by the Amagi Inn. I know I really shouldn't, but… it still bothers me that a girl like Yukiko has so much responsibility. She started helping out around the inn when she was, like, _ten_. That was six years ago." I stared at Nise, speechless, despite my face which continued to have that blank look. So, he still hasn't fully let go of his stereotypes for men and women...

"...Shouldn't you be happy about that though? Working at an Inn is a good way for a girl to become a proper lady" I pointed out. Nise strained a smile for a split second before sighing in disappointment.

"True, but..." Nise began. "The way I see it, Yukiko's doing more of a man's job. She does stuff like arranging schedules, greeting important guests, doing business deals... But, those kinds of stuff is what her dad does. And you know what? She does it right besides him!" Nise gritted his teeth as he firmly placed his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Sometimes I think her old man wishes that she was a man for making her do all that stuff… Whenever I go to the Inn, he's all happy to see me and such and instantly asks if I can help him out with stuff. He likes to thank me sometimes too about 'teaching' Yukiko- whatever that means. It bothers me..." Nise admitted, his eyes softening. I blinked in surprise at this- realizing something. Nise isn't necessarily upset at Yukiko for what she's doing… He's upset at what her _father_ is making her do. That must mean that somewhere deep inside him, he knows that Yukiko can take care of herself and has some skills that make her better than him.

"Well, doesn't she do stuff with her mother as well?" I asked, wanting to know if my theory was somewhat true.

"Well yeah, of course. Most of the time she's serving meals, refilling drinks for guests, cleaning up- those type of stuff I don't mind! Those jobs are what she should _always_ be doing" Nise replied looking over to me with a firm look. He flinched suddenly flinched and sighed, looking away from me.

"Gee… I guess I haven't really gotten any better, huh...?" Nise chuckled sadly as he ran a hand through his hair. I sighed softly at Nise's behavior and put my hand on his arm- catching his attention.

"You're getting there, Nise-kun. It's just going to take some time. You haven't had any problems being instructed by a _girl_ yet, so you're getting there" I teased. Nise stared at me with wide, shiny eyes that looked ready to spill with tears, before bursting out in laughter- surprising the other customers and myself.

"Hahah! Yeah, you're right!" Nise laughed, smiling brightly at me. I felt my heart skip a beat at his smile, glad that he was back to his cheerful self. Nise pumped his fists up into the air, radiating an aura of excitement.

"I'll make myself stronger so that I won't let you down! And for Yukiko, too!" Nise announced before looking back at me and winked, "So keep it up, _Leader_!" I felt my face heat up at the name and averted my eyes from his.

"Oh come on, not you too…" I sighed, my heated face only getting worse. "I feel so weird when you guys- well, mostly Hanamura- call me that." Nise laughed before rubbing my head, our bodies bumping into each other as he pulled me into a single armed hug. I felt my heart stop at our embrace, my face becoming uncomfortably hot. This was the first time that Nise has ever pulled me into a hug like this… Usually, Hanamura would pull me into his arm and tease me, but it was never so close like the way Nise was holding me right now. I never thought that Nise of all people would hug me like this as well… It feels kind of nice for some reason. There was a pause of silence between Nise and I as we continued to stay in that position. Nise suddenly tightened his embrace as he rested his chin on the top of my head.

"Look, I know me and Yosuke joke around with you a lot..." Nise began, his voice vibrating from my head down. "But we're all counting on you…" I felt my heart beat once again, loudly echoing in my ears at Nise's words. Everyone is counting on me… Hanamura and Nise are both counting on me… Yukiko too. Why is it that when I hear Nise say that, I feel all happy and excited? Nise suddenly broke our embrace, clearing his throat.

"U-Um… Well, a-all this talking is making me hungry!" Nise laughed nervously, his face beet red. Seeing his red face made my heart skip a beat for some reason as he called out to the chef, "'Scuse me! Another fried rice with meat, please!" I snapped out of my senses at this, nervous sweat forming at my forehead.

"You're having more? That's your second bowl…!" I pointed out. Nise looked at me, his face normal once again, and blinked.

"Of course I'm having more. How about you?" Nise asked. I shook my head slightly.

"I-I'm okay, thanks..." I replied nervously. I already knew that answer to the question I was about to ask, but just to make sure…

"...Nise-kun, do you even have any money?" I asked. Nise froze in place, the blood quickly draining from his face.

I let out a sigh and muttered, "...Don't worry, I'll pay."

"S-Sorry. I'll be sure to pay you back when I can" Nise laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. I nodded in gratitude as I rested my head in my palm- just like Nise had done not too long ago.

"At this rate, I'll have to get myself a part-time job. I can't depend on the money that my uncle gives me for doing the chores around the house" I sighed. The only reason I have been able to buy food and pay for meals when I'm out with friends is because of the money Dojima leaves behind for me. Of course, they don't they don't come around all that often- only when I make dinner or work on the garden. And unlike the 20,000 yen I got during exams, he only leaves behind 5,000 yen. Not that I'm complaining, it's very kind of him to leave behind any money at all.

"A part-time job, huh?" Nise mused as he stared blankly at the kitchen in front of us. "Yosuke keeps bugging me about that..." I hummed in interest at his words, something tickling my throat. Nise suddenly gasped and looked over at me with sparkling eyes.

"Hey, here's an idea! Let's find a job together! Then we'd be working buddies!" Nise suggested excitedly, leaning in towards me. I blinked in interest at his proposal, finding the idea… actually a lot of fun. It would be a great way of making Nise feel important- whatever I had trouble in, I'd give the responsibility to Nise. Nise suddenly gasped and leaned away, the gleam in his eyes disappearing.

"Aw, crap… I just remembered, I can't..." Nise sighed resting his chin on the table. I blinked twice in surprise and tilted my head slightly.

"You can't? Why not?" I asked.

"It's my dad..." Nise sighed, a small smile curling his lips. "He's always biting my ear off from breaking the shoji and other stuff around the house when I train. I can't even go outside at night anymore unless everything I broke is fixed with my own hands." I pressed my lips together to try and stop them from trembling as something major tickled my throat. It suddenly stopped when I realized something, my perfectly blank expression returning to normal.

"You used to go out at night?" I asked, suddenly interested. Nise blinked and nodded.

"Yeah. I'd stop by Aiya's and get a midnight snack sometimes" he explained, sounding a bit chipper.

"Huh..." I hummed. Maybe I should do that… Not necessarily to snack on something, but to buy a treat for Nanako to eat during lunch the next day. She loves it when I make her lunch, but with so little time- I can't make her anything sweet. I haven't even been able to make my famous rabbit apples.

"Hey, don't even _think_ about doing it!" Nise warned, snapping his fingers in front of my face- snapping me out of my thoughts. "It's not safe for a girl like you to go wandering around at night!" I nodded nervously at Nise's serious expression.

"You're right. Don't worry, I won't" I reassured, causing him to relax and smile. "But being working buddies doesn't sound half-bad. You should fix whatever you need to soon so that we can find a job together!" Nise looked at me in surprise, blushing slightly, before suddenly grinning.

"Alright! Now I'm fired up!" Nise cheered, pumping his fists in the air. He soon let out a sheepish laugh, embarrassed by his own actions. Something tickled my throat as I watched him, a very comforting feeling washing over me. I truly feel like my old self when I'm with the guys… They're just all so nice to me. I suppose it's because I've been around Senpai that I find myself in a more comforting position with the guys.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, June 26th_ | _Morning…_**

"Big Sis, these ones over here are done!" Nanako called out happily, giggling shortly after.

It was just about nine thirty in the morning- the morning sunlight beating down on me as Nanako and I worked on the garden. Dojima had bought some new seeds for us to plant- leaving a note behind on the table. Nanako couldn't wait to plant them- since one of the seeds was for corn which apparently appeared in her dream last night. I was wearing nothing more than black shorts and a white tank top, my hair tied into a ponytail while a towel hanged around my neck. Nanako was wearing a light pink summer dress with black tights underneath. While I was harvesting some of our new ripe tomato's, Nanako was happily watering the one that still needed to grow.

Standing up, I wiped the sweat off my face with my towel, grabbed the wicker basket filled with tomatoes, and walked over to where the cabbages were. Just like Nanako said, there was two cabbages, that we had planted recently, ready for harvest. I quickly and carefully pulled them out of the ground and placed them next to the tomato's.

Once every ripe vegetable was picked, I was in charge of planting the new seeds into the ground.

"Come on veggies, grow! I wanna eat some corn!" Nanako giggled once I finished planting, quickly watering them with her pink elephant watering can. A warm feeling washed over me as I watched Nanako water the ground, the corner of my lips twitching.

"It's cool how your father picked corn seeds the same day you _dreamed_ about corn, isn't it?" I commented. Nanako looked over at me and nodded happily, a wide smile on her face,

"Yeah! Daddy must have known somehow!" Nanako giggled. I nodded in agreement as Nanako walked over to me- done with her job.

"Could be… After all, there is no such thing as coincidence in this world" I pointed out, causing Nanako to nod. The two of us turned around and walked back inside the house, removing our shoes and gloves at the door. We then cleaned up the vegetables with a towel to remove any bugs or dirt and tucked them inside the refrigerator.

As we did so, my iPhone suddenly began to ring. Blinking in surprise, I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Hanamura.

Pressing the answer button, I put the phone to my ear and greeted, "Hello, Hanamura. What's up?"

" _Hey, Narukami-chan! I was just wondering if you wanted to hang today?_ " Hanamura replied, sounding chipper. I blinked in surprise at his offer, glancing over to the calendar.

"Well… Wait, don't you have work today?" I asked. Hanamura's schedule was a bit random, but I was certain that he always had to work Sunday's.

" _Nah, it's my day off. That's why I'm offering!_ " Hanamura explained. I hummed in thought, rather intrigued. It certainly wouldn't hurt to hang out with Hanamura. I always have fun doing so anyways.

"Alright, I'll hang out with you. I'm going to need about an hour or so to get ready though- I'm covered in sweat" I explained, looking down at my sweat covered arm.

" _Really? What were you doing?_ " Hanamura asked, sounding interested.

"I was working with Nanako on our garden" I explained, glancing over to her as she washed her hands. At the mention of her name, Nanako looked over at me and blinked. I shook my head, telling her that it was nothing. Nanako smiled and continued to wash her hands.

" _No way, you guys have a garden?_ " Hanamura asked, sounding surprised.

He hummed in thought and then asked, " _I think there's a sale going on in the gardening department. Wanna take a look?_ " I blinked in surprise as the corners of my lips twitch.

"Sure, sounds great! We could use some fertilizer and stuff to help improve the garden" I replied. Hanamura laughed on his end, most likely amused that I sounded so excited. Even I was surprised.

" _Cool! I'll swing by your place in an hour, okay? See ya!_ " Hanamura laughed, before hanging up. I placed my iPhone down onto the dinner table and looked over to Nanako, who had just finished washing her hands.

"Nanako, I'll be leaving later today to buy some stuff for the garden. Is there anything you want?" I asked. Nanako blinked in surprise as she looked over to me.

"For the garden? Um..." Nanako hummed, her eyebrows knitting together. "Oh! A new watering can!"

"But you already have a watering can" I pointed out, my eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Yeah, but… Pinkie says that he's lonely" Nanako explained, her cheeks dusted with pink. I felt something tickle my throat as I sighed through my nose, giving in to Nanako's ultimate cuteness.

"Alright, alright… I'll see if I can find Pinkie a new friend" I sighed, my lips twitching.

"Yay! Pinkie says thank you!" Nanako cheered, her cheeks growing red. I shook my head with a sigh and patted Nanako's head. This girl is seriously too cute.

* * *

 ** _Afternoon..._**

Just as Hanamura had said, he picked me up at my place and the two of us walked together to Junes. I told him about "Pinkie", and he bursted out laughing- agreeing with me that Nanako was just too cute.

When the two of us reached the Junes gardening department, I was truly impressed. It was almost like a green house- seeds, seedlings, flowers, plants, fertilizer, and equipment meant for gardening decked the place out. The roof was tiled with glass to allow the plants proper sunlight, while keeping the heat and rain away. There were also airconditioners in the room, keeping the area nice and cool. Hanamura and I looked around the area, making comments and jokes about the various things we saw. In the end, I purchased two small bags of fertilizer and a small watering can that had the face of a fox on it. Hanamura suggested that Nanako and I named it "Foxy". I told him that I'd think about it- but if Nanako came up with a different name, I'd go with that one, earning a laugh from him.

Before we knew it, it was lunchtime and the two of us were rather hungry. So we went out to the food court and sat in our secret headquarters, thinking it was appropriate since we always sat there.

"So, whatcha gonna eat today?" Hanamura asked as I placed my bags of fertilizer down on the chair next to me. I hesitantly looked up over to him, feeling a wave of guilt and shyness arise.

"Will you, um, be paying...?" I asked shyly. Hanamura blinked in surprise at my question, his eyes wide.

"Huh? You're actually gonna _let_ me pay?" Hanamura asked. I let out a soft sigh and nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry. Usually, I wouldn't..." I began, I rubbed the back of my neck gently and continued, "But I've been running low on money recently, so just this once. I promise to pay you back as soon as I can, though." Hanamura stared at me for a moment before letting out an amused sigh.

"You really don't have to do that, you know?" Hanamura began, looking a bit concerned. "If you're running low on money, just keep it! Seriously, I'm not gonna mind."

"So you keep saying, but It's gonna bother me..." I muttered. Hanamura let out a playful groan of annoyance and flicked my forehead. I blinked in surprise at his actions as I rubbed the area he flicked.

"Hey, Hanamura!" a familiar voice called out. Hanamura froze as he let out a sigh and stood up. I looked over my shoulder and noticed those two girl- Manami and Kurumi- walking over to him, angry looks on their faces.

"...What is it today?" Hanamura asked with a weak smile. Manami placed her left hand on her hip and waved her right hand in the air, gesturing to herself and Kurumi.

"How come Kazumi can take the day off and _we_ can't?" Manami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"...Huh?" Hanamura asked, blinking in confusion.

"We told you before! We _can't_ work weekends!" Manami groaned, angrily. "So when we refused, they said they were going to fire us! I don't get this!" Hanamura put his hands up in the air in a rather weak, surrendering way with a strained smile.

"Hey, I talked to the manager..." Hanamura sighed. He then looked between the two upperclassmen and put his hands down. "Senpai… Have you been taking absences without leave lately?" Manami and Kurumi froze in surprise and looked away.

"I-I just forgot to come..." Manami replied nervously, Kurumi nodding in agreement. "Besides, that's not the point! What're you going to do about this? I have a _date_ that day!" Hanamura simply shrugged. It made sense to me- Hanamura did his part. It's just these girls who _aren't_...

"How come you're favoring Kazumi, _huh_?!" Manami suddenly snapped, nearly surprising me. "You were like that with Saki, too!"

"...Huh?" Hanamura asked, blinking in confusion.

"Don't even try and hide it! We _all_ know!" Kurumi snapped, flicking a wrist. "You liked Saki and treated her special!" I flinched at her words and looked over to Hanamura. Hanamura had a blank look on his face, showing no emotion. But his fists, however were clenched tightly in anger. This was going to become ugly if Konishi was mentioned again...

"...I don't think Saki-senpai has anything to do with this subject" Hanamura replied, calmly- taking deep breaths through his nose.

"Uh- yeah! It _does_!" Manami scoffed, placing both hands on her hips. "You told the other workers to take it easy on Saki too, didn't you? You think you can do anything just because you're the manager's son?!" Hanamura said nothing as he stared blankly at the two girls in front of him. I felt my blood boil beneath my skin at their words, wanting to lecture them.

Kurumi huffed as she crossed her arms below her chest, asking "So it's Kazumi now that Saki's dead?"

"Hmph, you must have some pretty low standards if you're able to move on from Saki so quickly" Manami huffed as she crossed her arms underneath her chest, just like her friend. Hanamura flinched at this, as if his anger was starting to punch him.

"Don't even bother, she has a boyfriend" Manami continued. "Didn't you get it?! Saki didn't _like_ you! We heard so from her!"

"She may have acted that way, but she was only using you so that she could get more money! Once she was good, she was going to leave this town and probably live as a hooker or something- have an easy life" Kurumi sneered, as if disgusted. Something in me snapped at their words and by Hanamura's silence. Glancing over to him, I noticed that Hanamura's eyes were glazed with tears. To make Hanamura upset like this… To remind him of the truth he had to find out after Konishi's death… After waiting all morning long for a text message that would never reach him…?! They've crossed the line.

"People shouldn't be speaking ill of the dead. You two have rather _**rude**_ manners" I growled threateningly- despite my blank expression, no doubt- catching the girl's attention for the first time. Hanamura broke away from his depressed state and looked over at me in surprise.

"N-Narukami-chan…!" Hanamura muttered. I gave him a firm nod before glancing over to the two girls who glared and sneered at me.

"Who are you? Are you his plaything?" they asked at the same time. Manami walked over to me and leaned in close to my face, as if examining it. For a split moment she looked surprised, but quickly replaced it with nervous disgust.

"You're one cheap, ugly whore… Not even a touch of makeup- _disgusting_ " Manami sneered. I lowered my head slightly, trying to seem a bit intimidating. I wanted to try and send them a message that basically said that I didn't care and that I wasn't afraid of them.

"HEY, DON'T TALK TO HER LIKE THAT!" Hanamura suddenly roared, causing the three of us to jump in surprise. Hanamura pulled the two girls away from me and stood in front of me in a protective way, loudly gritting his teeth.

"Just shut up, will you?! You're really getting on my nerves!" Hanamura shouted.

"What do you know about Saki-senpai?! She didn't do things half-assed like _you two_! She looked lazy, but she worked hard! She talked bad, but she was good inside!" Hanamura panted in exhaustion at his words, his tightly curled fists trembling as they lost their grip.

"So she hated me? I knew that! She's not here anymore! _I'm_ the one who was left behind...!" Hanamura huffed, his voice cracking. My heart throbbed at his words, making me want to hug him in comfort. I know… I know far too well on how it feels to be left behind…

"Wha… What the heck...?" Manami squeaked, clearly shaken up from Hanamura's shouting while also freaked out.

"...Just leave me alone" Hanamura muttered, losing his earlier threatening presence.

"...Let's go" Kurumi muttered. The two quickly turned around and walked away in silence, too shaken up by the angry side of Hanamura they have never seen.

Once they were long gone from our sight, Hanamura let out a sigh and wiped his eyes while still facing away from me.

"...I just blurted out a buncha crap, huh?" Hanamura chuckled weakly. I stood up from my chair and placed a hand on Hanamura's arm, causing him to flinch.

"...No, it's normal. I know how it is" I replied.

"R-Really…? Heh, I can't imagine you blowing up like that…" Hanamura chuckled, sounding a bit better. He let out another sigh and ran his hands through his hair.

"Damn… Another pathetic display from Yosuke, huh?" Hanamura chuckled sheepishly. He looked over at me and smiled a little while raising a brow, a pinch of pink dusting his cheeks.

"...Thanks though. Hearing you say that stuff to them… It made me happy" Hanamura admitted, sheepishly.

"Oh..." I muttered, blinking several times in surprise. I looked down at my hands and felt my face heat up.

"Um, it… It made me happy too when you yelled at them for me" I admitted, sheepishly.

"Well, yeah… Getting you involved and calling you that stuff was crossing the line" Hanamura said bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Although, to be honest… I just shouted that stuff at them without even realizing it. Kind of embarrassing." I felt the corners of my lips twitch as I looked up at him.

"I thought it was cool" I commented, causing Hanamura to blush some more.

"Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised. He then chuckled and smiled, saying "Well, makes sense. You're not exactly normal, y'know?"

"So I've been told" I replied with a shrug. Hanamura chuckled once more before his smile started to slowly fade away. He sighed and scratched the side of his head,

"I don't want to… I _really_ don't want to, but I'll go talk with Dad..." Hanamura sighed. "At this rate, those two are gonna quit… I should tell him and apologize..." I flinched at this and placed a hand on his arm.

"Are you sure? There are always more, much _better_ people you can hire" I suggested. I didn't want Hanamura to have to suffer under the name of Saki Konishi, and with those two girls- they just might bring her up yet again. Hanamura shrugged, weakly.

"I don't know..." Hanamura admitted with a sigh. "What do I want to do? I don't get it… even though it's my own future..." I stroked Hanamura's arm in comfort, staring up at him.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Hanamura" I reassured.

"Hopefully..." Hanamura laughed, weakly. He let out a sigh and said, "Sorry, but I'll see you later. Be careful on your way home." I nodded in reply as he started to walk off.

"I will… See you tomorrow" I called out. Hanamura waved goodbye without turning back to look at me, his head held high.

Hanamura is a strong individual… He has a purpose to keep on going- to bring Konishi's killer to justice. And as long as he has that motive… he can continue forward. Unlike me. I've stop moving a long time ago. Hopefully, he won't ever lose that strength. Grabbing my shopping bags, I started to head back to the entrance.

As I walked towards the entrance, I heard someone mutter, "Oh, you're Dojima-san's…!" I stopped walking at those words and looked around. I noticed a woman staring at me with wide eyes, a pink apron covering the front of her body. I blinked at her stare, slightly confused.

"Pardon? Do you need something from me, Miss?" I asked, pointing at myself. The woman instantly ran over to me and grabbed my shoulders, causing me to freeze.

"You have to hear me out! Cabbage! There's no cabbage!" the woman said frantically as she shook me.

"H… Huh?" I stuttered, through the shaking. Unable to take it, I broke free from the woman's grip and said, "Miss, please calm down and start from the beginning." The woman gasped at my words and placed a hand on her cheek.

"R-Right, right… I need to calm down..." the woman stuttered, taking deep breaths.

With a deep breath, the woman began "Well you see, my grandfather will refuse to eat anything that wasn't grown in Inaba. Lately, he's been demanding for meals with _cabbage_ in it."

"And apparently there's no more?" I asked, wanting to confirm it.

"Yes, that's right!" the woman agreed, quickly. "You see, the ones in the grocery department are grown elsewhere, and they're expensive to boot! I used to buy all our vegetables from this nice woman who grows them in her garden. But recently, she ran out of cabbage seeds and won't be able to get any until the end of _July_!"

"My grandfather won't wait that long! He'll bite my head if I don't make him the best cabbage meal in all of Japan!" the woman gasped, shaking me once again. I sighed as I grabbed the woman by the shoulders and gently pushed her away.

"...I understand. I'll help you out" I replied.

"Really? You will!? Oh, that's wonderful!" the woman cheered, suddenly hugging me. I froze at her actions as I let out a sigh. She's quite grabby, isn't she? "All I need from you are three cabbages."

"Three cabbages… Got it" I muttered with a nod. How convenient… We already have two out of six cabbages harvested- one nearly ready as well.

"Oh, I'm so glad to have your help!" the woman squealed, giving me one last hug before dashing off. I stood frozen as I watched the woman run, my face twitching without breaking the blank look. I didn't mind helping her, but I can certainly work without the touching. It's just weird from a stranger…

* * *

 ** _Monday, June 27th_ | _Morning…_**

"Don't get carried away just because some scatterbrained idol is back in town! You hear me?!"

I stared nervously at the shouting Morooka, sweat slowly trailing my jaw. Why is it that he always seems so angry to teach us? If he doesn't like teenagers, then why doesn't he teach younger children? Why is he a teacher in general?

"That's Ryo for all you out-of-the-loop morons" Morooka continued, slamming a copy of the textbook we were studying down on his desk. "All he does are variety shows and silly commercials! What's the damn point of running your mouths about some half-wit whose only talent is appearing on shows for idiots?" I blinked in surprise at this bit of information. So, Kujikawa only does variety shows and commercials? What about that minor role in that movie? Oh, if it was a minor role, it makes sense that it wasn't mentioned.

"Now, I've got the perfect lecture for you assholes! Let's talk some Friedrich Nietzsche! It makes sense! Many of you are reacting to your own "ressentiment" toward that idol boy by talking about him, right?" Morooka barked. There was an audible groan throughout the class, some being of annoyance while other were of nervousness. The nervous groans made sense- we did have to do some reading for Nietzsche.

"…Why the hell do you all look so upset!?" Morooka asked, a visible vein popping on his forehead.

"Stand up and show these dimwits what it means to be a proper student, Narukami!" Morooka barked as he slapped his copy of the textbook. Upon hearing my name, I obediently stood up.

"What does "ressentiment" mean?" Morooka asked.

"Hatred and jealousy, sir" I replied. It was an easy question, since I did the reading.

"Hmph, glad to know that you've already done the reading. A perfect example of what you brats should be doing instead of running your mouths!" Morooka huffed. At those words, I considered it safe to sit down and took my seat.

"'Ressentiment' is a French word denoting hatred and jealousy! It's different from 'resent,' because it's used specifically for jealous emotions toward someone better than you!" Morooka explained. "I'm sure you're all very familiar with how that feels. At least I won't have to go into much depth on this one. And just so you know, there are LOTS more people out there who are much better than you dipshits!" Some of the boys in class huffed in annoyance at Morooka's words, clearly angry. I ignored his rather rude comment and took notes, not wanting to forget it.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

Once school was over, I packed up my things and made my way to the shoe lockers with Nise. It turned out that he took our previous conversation to heart and has been working hard on repairing the things he broke around the house. But apparently, since he has been showing helpfulness around the house, his parents has been making him do other things as well- like cleaning the attic. It was pretty humorous, but I felt bad for Nise.

When the two of us reached our shoe lockers, someone suddenly called out- "Hey! Narukami!". I blinked in surprise and looked over to the left, where two girls from the basketball team came running up to Nise and me.

"Oh, good afternoon. Is something wrong?" I asked, noticing their worried and exhausted expressions.

"Uh- sort of. We were wondering if you saw Kou around here" the first girl asked. I blinked in surprise and looked over to Nise. Nise shook his head- telling me he hasn't seen her.

"No, I haven't. Isn't she in the gym?" I asked, looking back over to the girls.

"No, and practice has already started!" the second girl explained. "We sneaked out to look for her!"

"That's weird. Ichijo's pretty hard core about basketball… It isn't like her to all of a sudden start skipping" Nise commented. I nodded in agreement, finding it strange as well. Just what's going on…?

"Don't worry, I'll find Kou-chan. You two go back and practice" I instructed, looking back at the girls. They let out a sigh of relief and smiled at me in gratitude.

"Thanks, Narukami!" they thanked at the same time. They turned around while waving goodbye before jogging off- back to the gym.

"Hey, be sure to come by and practice sometimes!" the second girl called out before the two picked up the pace.

"Narukami-chan, want me to help? I'm worried about Ichijo" Nise said as I turned around to face the shoe lockers. I looked over to him in surprise before shaking my head.

"Don't worry about her, she's a tough girl. I'll be fine on my own" I replied. Nise opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly shut it, his eyebrows knitting together.

With a sigh, Nise said, "Well… If you say so. But don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it, okay?" I nodded in reply, earning a small smile from Nise. He turned around towards the shoe lockers, grabbed his shoes, slipped them on, put his slippers inside the locker, and walked out the school entrance.

Once Nise was gone from my field of vision, I started looking around the lockers for the second years. The first thing I need to check is whether or not Kou is still inside the building. I walked over to locker 2-1E, Kou's locker. Opening it up, I blinked in confusion. Her outdoor shoes are still here. So if she's still inside the building… Where would she be? I hummed in thought as I slowly closed Kou's locker, thinking of where she would go.

I let out a sigh in defeat. It's uncommon for Kou to skip like this- I don't know where she would have gone. My best choice of action is to search from top to bottom. With another sigh, I turned around and jogged towards the stairs which would eventually lead me to the roof.

* * *

As I climbed the last stairs that lead up to the rooftop, I noticed a familiar brown haired girl standing in front of the door that acted as a border from the building to the roof top. I blinked in surprise as I approached her quietly, making sure they were unaware of my presence.

"Chou-chan?" I called out. Chou flinched at the sound of my voice and turned around, blinking in surprise.

"Oh, hey Hitomi" Chou greeted, relaxing now that she saw me.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have soccer practice?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I'm skipping today" Chou replied with a shrug.

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked, worried. Chou was just as hardcore as Kou, so for to skip practice as well…? What's going on? Chou sighed and pointed at the door with her thumb.

"Ichijo's out there- _thinking_ " Chou began, sounding a bit worried. "It's a miracle really, since all she tends to think about is boys or basketballs. I get nervous when she's like this- I haven't been able to approach her..." Chou shuddered at her words, as if it truly made her uncomfortable. Something tickled in my throat at this as the corners of my lip twitched.

"I see. Well come on, let's go together" I suggested. Chou blinked in surprise before smiling and nodding in agreement, looking relieved. Chou opened the door and walked outside first while I was behind her. Over to the very left of the rooftop, I saw Kou laying down with her arms and legs spread out. I blinked in surprise at this and glanced over to Chou, our eyes locking. Glancing back at Kou, I took the lead and walked over to her.

"Hey, Kou-chan. It's extremely rare to see you up here and not in the gym" I greeted, catching the dark blue haired girl's attention. Kou looked over at me and smiled.

"Oh, hey guys" Kou greeted, lazily.

"What are you doing?" I asked, placing my bag down besides me.

"Just day dreaming about noodles. Maybe it's a sign of long life?" Kou joked, letting out a laugh. I stared at Kou as she looked back up at the sky. Something seems… off about her. Like she's forcing herself to smile and laugh.

"...Ichijo, I know you went over to your family the other day" Chou suddenly began, catching our attention. "...How'd it go?" I blinked in surprise at the information and looked over to Kou- just in time to see her sit up.

"Well, it's… complicated" Kou began, her back facing us. "As you guys know, my family's pretty… _interesting_. Arranged marriages for political gain are pretty standard for us. Just the other day I was greeting people at one of those high society gatherings." Kou let out an exasperated laugh and turned to face us, a weak smile on her face.

"Can you imagine? _Me_ , at one of those things? I had to wear a kimono and everything!" Kou laughed in slight disgust. I blinked twice as I tried to imagine it. Kou has rather nice hair and a nice face… Appearance wise, she would look ideal. But if she talked and acted the way she does normally while wearing a kimono...

"It's… hard to imagine" I replied, feeling a drop of sweat rolling down my jaw.

"Right? Seriously, I have to laugh at myself sometimes!" Kou laughed. "Because of how interesting my family is, at home- it's nothing but study, tea ceremonies, and lessons. To them, I'm the prim and proper 'Kou-sama'. I don't get to talk so informally like this when I'm there."

"Kou-sama?" Chou repeated, sounding a bit baffled. Kou nodded slowly, a small smile on her face.

"Yep… that's what they call me" Kou began. "I know it sounds crappy, but hey, they feed me and give me an allowance. I need to do my part too, y'know?" I nodded in agreement, earning a bigger smile from Kou. I understood the feeling.

"I don't know..." Chou sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she sat down on Kou's right.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. It might all be over soon anyways" Kou muttered.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I sat down to her left. Kou looked over to me with a blank expression before sighing and looking forward with a sad smile.

"Well, we're an old-fashioned family, so the Ichijo name has been passed down from generation to generation" Kou began. "But the last my of the family, my Dad, didn't have any kids to pass the name on to." I flinched, immediately understanding where this was going.

"S-So then, you're...?" I began, my words immediately trailing. I couldn't even say the word- it was far too frightening for me. Kou looked over to me and nodded.

"Yeah. They weren't going to let the Ichijo name just up and die, so they adopted me" Kou explained, causing me to flinch. She is… Kou was adop… Adopted.

"And then, what do you know? My Dad ended up having a kid after all. A boy. I guess you could say he's like a little brother to me..." Kou continued, seeming a bit happier. "His name is Yama. He's almost two, and he's really cute, y'know?" I stared at Kou as she let out a laugh that seemed a bit forced to me. But it was understandable.

"… Good for you, Kou-chan" I managed to say, patting her on the back. Kou looked over to me and smiled- a genuine one- before nodding.

"Haha, isn't it?" Kou laughed. Chou placed a hand on Kou's other shoulder with a concerned expression. Kou looked over to Chou and laughed, continuing, "It's better this way. Becoming the successor would be a major hassle… And really, it should go to a male blood relative." Kou fell silent after that as she stared off into the distance. I could feel Kou's body trembling slightly revealing her true feelings. She was scared- scared that her new little brother would make her useless and be thrown out of the house. I felt my eyes prick at this, understanding far too well what she was feeling. They're her family. Even if she isn't related to them by blood, she was raised by them. Being kicked out of their home, no longer having any connection with them… Any child would feel scared. No matter how much you believe to hate your parents or siblings, having nowhere to go, and no one to call your own. It's terrifying. I want to comfort Kou somehow…

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes- calling out to Izanagi. Izanagi always knows what to do at situations like this… He's sort of the father figure for all of the other persona's I have inside of me. After a moment of two, I felt Izanagi take control of my body. My arms- under Izanagi's control- wrapped around Kou's shoulder and gently, I embraced her. Kou's body immediately stopped trembling by my actions- seeming surprised. I felt Chou copy my actions, her arms on top of mine.

"...Haha, what's gotten into you two? There's no need for hugging- I'm fine!" Kou laughed, genuinely. At her command, Chou and I both removed ourselves from Kou as she stood up- her usual bright smiles on her face.

"C'mon, Nagase! We have practice and we're _way_ late!" Kou said as she grabbed Chou's hand and pulled her up. Chou smiled with a nod and waved goodbye to me. I nodded goodbye, causing Chou to turn around and start heading out.

"See ya later, Hitomi-chan. Oh, and… Thanks" Kou said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck, blushing a little. I felt a warm feeling wash over me as the corner of my lips twitched. With a nod, Kou turned around and ran after Chou- the two exiting through the door. I stayed in my spot for a while, enjoying the early summer sunlight and the nice breeze.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, June 28th_ | _After school…_**

Once school was over, Yukiko asked me if I wanted to accompany her as she did some shopping while I was packing my bag. I had nothing to do of course, since I do all of my studying later in the evening, I agreed to do so. Yukiko seemed happy about it, so everything turned out alright in the end.

Yukiko and I wandered in front of the Junes grocery department, examining the vegetables. Yukiko pulled off a clear plastic bag to store to her vegetables.

"I wrote down everything I need, so this shouldn't take that long" Yukiko said as she looked over to me with a smile. I nodded in reply as I picked up a daikan. Since I was here, I decided to make ramen for dinner tonight.

"Do you think you have gotten any better yet?" I asked Yukiko as I grabbed a clear plastic bag for the daikan.

"That's..." Yukiko gasped, catching my attention as I fanned the plastic bag out.

"I hope so..." Yukiko admitted as she looked over at me with a sheepish smile.

"I'm studying the basics of the basics" Yukiko began as she picked up a tomato and gently stuffed it inside her plastic bag. "But it's not turning out quite like it does in the book, even though I'm following the directions." Stuffing two daikin's inside my plastic bag, I looked over to Yukiko and gave her a firm nod.

"Don't give up. Keep practicing!" I encouraged. Yukiko blinked in surprise at my words as I placed my bag of daikin's inside my basket.

"Yes... Practice makes perfect!" Yukiko agreed with a nod, smiling. She grabbed another tomato and stuffed it inside her bag as I grabbed a new plastic bag.

"I think there's no point unless I do it alone..." Yukiko suddenly began with a sad look as I grabbed a leek. "Our cooks help me out all the time. At first they just give me advice, but eventually they take the knife from me. So even if the meal turns out wonderfully, it doesn't mean anything that way..." I nodded slowly in understanding as Yukiko stuffed another tomato inside her bag.

"I can understand that" I agreed as Yukiko tied up her bag of tomatoes.

"Right? I told them to leave me alone, but they still stay and watch!" Yukiko huffed, sounding a little bit annoyed. "Are they _that_ worried about my cooking…?" Yukiko's hands came to a stop as she looked down at her cart, placing the tomatoes in it. I stopped shifting through the leeks as I turned my full attention to Yukiko, sensing her sadness.

"I don't think it's so much your cooking… I think they're worried about your wellbeing. They wouldn't want you to get hurt because they care about you" I pointed out. Of course, this was only an assumption but Yukiko didn't need to know that. Yukiko blinked in surprise and looked over at me.

"They care about… _me_?" Yukiko repeated slowly in surprise. "Do… Do you really think so?"

"Of course" I replied with a firm nod. Yukiko blinked in surprise as she blushed a little, looking surprised but happy as well. She looked down at the vegetables and picked up a cucumber, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Last time the head chef took the knife from me, shouting, 'I can't stand to watch anymore!' and made the rest" Yukiko began, a smile on her face. "The waitress saw it and said to the head chef, 'Yukiko wants to make it herself, even if it's awful...' Before I knew it, I was 'studying how to cook for a boy I like'..." Yukiko giggled as she recalled the the memory, grabbing a bag for her cucumbers.

"My parents got involved and it exploded from there… Hehe, funny isn't it?" Yukiko giggled, stuffing the cucumber inside her bag.

"They sound like a colorful group" I replied, picturing the scene in my head.

"Hehe, they are… Each and every one of them" Yukiko agreed, with a giggle. "...Oh, just before you start thinking- I don't have a boy I like yet to cook for. So, keep tasting my food- okay?" I nodded, feeling the corners of my lip twitch. It feels as if I had gotten closer with Yukiko.

"I will" I replied. I suddenly blinked when I realized something and asked, "Oh, have you asked Nise-kun to try out some of your food?" Yukiko looked over at me in surprise and blinked.

"Nise? Well, he isn't honest like you" Yukiko admitted as she placed her bag of cucumber down in the cart. "Whenever I make something for him, food or crafts, he always smiles and says 'thanks, I love it!'."

Yukiko giggled and continued, "I remember once when we were children, I gave him a ladybug I found and he said 'thanks, I love it!' even though his hands were shaking! He sort of acts like a brother towards me. We've been friends for so long, I don't think I will see him as anything more." I hummed at her information, finding it cute. So, Nise was afraid of bugs ever since he was a child, hm? It's cute how he accepts gifts like that with a smile even when he's afraid…

"I see. That makes sense, he does act like a protective older brother when it comes to you, doesn't he?" I pointed out. It was one of his best qualities, in my opinion.

"Yeah..." Yukiko agreed with a smile. "Hopefully when I find a boy I _do_ like, Nise won't act like that. It'll send a bad message to the boy I like." I hummed in reply as I shifted through the leeks once again, picking out two of them.

"You know, I think you and Nise would be really nice together" Yukiko suddenly giggled, causing me to freeze. For some reason my face heated up at her words as I looked at her.

"H-Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, my voice squeaking a bit. Yukiko held in a laugh as she shook her head.

"Hehe, it's nothing! Nevermind!" Yukiko giggled, pressing her fingers to her lips. I quickly placed my bag of leeks inside my basket and grabbed Yukiko's arm, shaking it a little.

"No, tell me! What did you mean by that?" I asked, wanting to know. I didn't know what she meant by that, but my body instinctively reacted- I need to know why!

"Nothing, honest!" Yukiko laughed, quickly controlling herself. "Let's just finish shopping." I huffed in defeat as Yukiko quickly scanned through her list.

"Let's see, next up is… Salmon!" Yukiko cheered, happily pushing her cart towards. I felt a drop of sweat roll down my jaw, my eyebrows twitching.

"Seafood again…?" I muttered under my breath as I reluctantly followed after her.

* * *

 ** _Evening..._**

After Yukiko and I had finished shopping, we said goodbye and parted ways to head home. Apparently, Yukiko had to ride the bus in order to get home. I found it rather interesting but also a bit of a hassle. After all, I had to ride at least two busses as well as a train to get home back in the city. Of course, the number added or subtracted depending on where we moved to. This was the first place I had ever resided in that actually didn't require some sort of transportation from and to school.

When I arrived at the Dojima residence, I told Nanako that I was making ramen for dinner, making her quite happy.

As I was cleaning the kitchen counter, I noticed that Nanako's pink gardening gloves were stuffed in the corner behind the rice cooker. I blinked in surprise at their hiding spot and pulled them out.

"...Nanako, what happened to your gardening gloves?" I asked, looking over my shoulder to see Nanako sitting in front of the T.V watching her favorite anime. Nanako flinched at my words and slowly looked over to me. I held up Nanako's torn and dirty gloves so that she can see them. These gloves were not torn to shreds yesterday morning.

"Um..." Nanako began as she looked down at her feet, fidgeting. "Sa-kun and Na-kun heard that we had a garden… So they told me to bring my gloves for Miwa-chan so that she could catch bugs with us. But she ended up ripping them when they got caught in a thorn bush..." I blinked in surprise as I walked over to her, causing her to look up.

"Did you get mad?" I asked. Nanako shook her head.

"No. I knew it was an accident, so I forgave her" Nanako replied. She then looked down and muttered, "I'm sorry, Big Sis..." I blinked at her apology and knelt down to hre height.

"It's alright. Not getting mad at your friend for breaking your gloves was very mature of you" I praised as I patted her head. Nanako smiled in relief as she blushed, slightly embarrassed. I then stood up and looked at the gloves in my hands. They're in pretty bad shape… Maybe I should ask Kanji to fix them up for me…

* * *

 ** _Wednesday, June 29th_ | _After school…_**

Once school was over, I quickly packed up my things more so than usual and quickly headed for Kanji's classroom. As I walked down to the first floor, I spotted a familiar hair of bleach-blonde heading towards the shoe lockers.

"Hey, Kanji-kun! Wait up!" I called out, quickly rushing past the other students to reach him. Kanji blinked in surprise and looked over to me.

"Huh? What's the rush, Senpai?" Kanji asked as I approached him.

"I have a favor to ask you" I began as the other first years passed by us. "My little cousin's friend accidentally tore her gardening gloves. I was wondering if you could make them better?" Kanji blinked in surprise at my proposal, a tinge of pink dusting his cheeks.

"Y-You… You want me to _sew_ your cousin's gloves?" Kanji asked, wanting to confirm it. I nodded in reply as I took out Nanako's gloves from my bag, which I stuffed inside earlier this morning.

"If it isn't too much trouble" I replied as I handed him the gloves. Kanji took the gloves and examined them, his cheeks turning redder. He then shook his head and examined the gloves with a serious expression.

"Hm, well… They're shredded up pretty bad. It might take a while" Kanji hummed as he felt around the large hole. I let out a silent sigh.

"We can wait. But do you think you can work on it today?" I asked. I needed to see how the cabbages were doing. They should be ready now so I need to harvest them- but Nanako won't let me do anything to the garden on my own since we built it together. The sooner Kanji works on them, the sooner I get to give that strange lady her cabbages. Kanji rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well… I have to help out with my Ma at the shop, so I don't think I can..." Kanji muttered, sounding apologetic. I hummed in thought, trying to think of a way to get those gloves fixed...

"Oh, in that case- let me take your place!" I suggested. Kanji blinked in surprise.

"Huh? You wanna take my place?" Kanji asked, a drop of sweat rolling down his jaw. I nodded to confirm it.

"Yeah. While you work on the gloves, I'll work with your mother in your place" I explained. Kanji stared at me in surprise, almost baffled by my proposal.

He then let out a sigh and said, "...Alright, fine." I felt the corners of my lip twitch at his words, as I jumped- quickly heading over to my shoe locker to slip on my shoes.

* * *

"Ma, I'm home!" Kanji called out as he and I walked in through the front door of the textile shop. Shortly after calling out, Kanji's mother walked out from behind a shoji with a smile.

I am always impressed by her elegance whenever I see her… despite the fact that this is only my second time. The way her hair is so elegantly tied up into a bun, her kimono perfectly hugging her body, and the way she elegantly walked and sat herself down on her knees- she must have had a lot of practice. It's not every day that you see a proper woman with this much grace and elegance.

"Welcome back" Kanji's mother greeted. She suddenly noticed me and smiled brightly, her few wrinkles ceasing. "Oh, you've brought home a friend!"

"Good afternoon" I greeted with a bow. Kanji's mother chuckled, seeming pleased.

"Ma, this is Narukami-senpai. She wants me to work on something for her, so she's gonna be working in my place, 'kay?" Kanji explained as he slipped off his shoes and climbed up to the tatami platform.

"Oh, so _you're_ the Senpai my boy keeps on talking about!" Kanji's mother exclaimed as he walked behind the shoji- most likely to his room to work. "He talks about you non-stop. Some way or another, he brings you up saying, 'Senpai this' or 'Senpai that'." I blinked in surprise, feeling rather happy by that.

"I do not!" I heard Kanji call out. He must be in the kitchen or living room- somewhere not very far if he could hear what we were saying and clearly deny his mother's words.

"Haha, he's such a shy thing" Kanji's mother laughed.

"Am not!" Kanji denied, sounding a bit embarrassed. I felt the corners of my lips twitch as I placed my bag down on the tatami platform.

"He does get flustered easily, doesn't he?" I commented, causing Kanji's mother to laugh.

"I-I do not!" I heard Kanji stutter, clearly flustered.

"Hahah, I think that's enough teasing for one day" Kanji's mother chuckled. I nodded in reply and removed my shoes, placing them neatly in front of the tatami platform.

"So, you'll be helping me around the shop today? I must warn you, I'm very strict" Kanji's mother teased. I nodded as I got up on the platform, sitting on my knees,

"I'll do my best, ma'am" I said as I bowed.

"Glad to hear it. Let's get started, shall we?" Kanji's mother suggested. I nodded in reply.

A few hours have passed since I started helping Kanji's mother- whose name is Kana. She taught me a lot of things while we were keeping watch of the shop. She taught me how to tell the difference between "pure" fabric and "impure" fabric. Pure fabric has a bit more of emotion in it- like whenever you feel it you become happy and think in a positive way. Impure fabric makes you feel angry and think in a negative way. I also learned that this textile shop also does custom made kimonos, yukata, scarves, as well as knitted animals which are made by Kanji. The shop doesn't get a lot of customers during the "normal" season, but it becomes packed when certain holidays come around, like the Summer festival or New Years. During the normal season, only one or two customers come by. They get the occasional tourists who stop by to see the fabric since the dye for the clothing comes from way up in the mountains. She wasn't as strict as she said she was- possibly because I did everything I was told with no complaints. There wasn't much to do anyways, besides from cleaning the front of the shop, fluffing the fabric, and arranging the fabric that sometimes get misplaced when Kanji puts them in the wrong place.

* * *

"Thank you, have a nice day" I said with a bow as a young woman left the shop. She had just bought a colorful blue, white, and orange scarf for her grandmother. Kana was in the back checking on Kanji, so I decided to play as the cashier. I pulled out the little red bag that acted as Kana's cash register from beneath a tatami mat and stuffed the money inside.

"Hitomi-chan, I've made some tea. Would you like to take a break?" I heard Kana ask. I looked over my shoulder and saw Kana holding a tray of cups and a small tea kettle with a gentle smile on her face. I nodded in reply, thinking it was about time we do so. I've been working for four hours straight- a break would be nice. Kana smiled and walked towards me, placing the tray down besides me and sat down next to it. I turned my body so that I was facing her and the tray, feeling almost like I was at a tea ceremony.

"I must say, you did quite an excellent job today" Kana praised as she poured the tea from the kennel into a traditional green cup.

"I'm glad to hear that" I replied. She then poured the tea into another cup and handed the first one to me. I accepted the cup of tea with a bow and took a sip. My eyes closed on instinct as I took in the flavors. The fragrance was quite lemony, but the tea _itself_ tasted like…

"...Raspberry tea with a pinch of lemon" I muttered as my eyes opened.

"Haha, I see you're a tea lover as well!" Kana laughed, sounding impressed. I nodded.

"I suppose you can say that. I find it a bit more relaxing that coffee" I explained.

"Now I understand why you and Kanji get along so well! He isn't a fan of coffee either" Kana chuckled. I blinked in surprise at the information as I tilted my head slightly.

"Really? I thought that he'd be the type to drink it down every morning" I mused. "But being raised by you, I suppose it makes sense."

"Ohoho, you flatter me" Kana chuckled before taking a sip. I took a sip as well after her when a sudden question popped into my mind.

"...Kana-san, I was wondering if I could ask you a question in regards to Kanji" I began, catching Kana's attention. "He once told me that he couldn't say my first name, despite calling the other's so. Do you know the reason why?" Kana blinked in surprise by my question, a bit shocked. This was Kanji's mother- if anyone knew Kanji the most, it was her.

"...Well, from what I can tell; he respects you too much" Kana guessed as she placed her cup of tea down. I blinked in surprise.

"Really?" I asked.

"Oh, yes" Kana replied with a smile. "When he was a boy, he didn't get along with the girls in his class because of his hobbies. He was quite lonely for some time. So the fact that you can so openly accept him and encourage him to do what he likes, he has a lot of respect for you." I blinked in surprise once again. So, he didn't have a lot of friends as a child who accepted him… That must be why he's so distant and frightening to strangers- because he doesn't know how to socialize properly with them. I felt the corners of my lip twitch as a warm feeling washed over me. I felt very… special. Kana must have found something funny, because she soon began to chuckle.

"What are you guys talkin' about? This ain't a bad time, is it?" I heard a voice asked. Kana and I looked over to the shoji and saw Kanji looking at us with a hand on his hip.

"Why don't you have some tea, Kanji?" Kana offered with a smile.

"Later, Ma" Kanji rejected with a shake of his head as he walked over to me. I stood up as he approached me, expecting him to say that it would take a while. Kanji showed me the gloves I had given him- but instead of all torn up, they were as good as new. I gasped at the sight of them.

"Here Senpai. Turns out they weren't as bad as I thought" Kanji said as he handed me the gloves with a smile.

"Wow, they're as good as new! Oh, and you even did a flower design!" I exclaimed, noticing the sewn like flower on the top of the gloves. I looked up at Kanji as my face heated up and said, "Thank you so much, Kanji-kun! I'm sure she'll love it!" Kanji blushed a little at my words and looked away with puckered out lips. I felt something tickle my throat at his expression, but it quickly died as I turned to face Kana.

"Well, I'll be off then" I said with a bow. Kana smiled and nodded goodbye.

"Oh, I'll walk you home, Senpai" Kanji said as he walked over to the entrance, quickly slipping on his shoes. I followed his actions and picked up my bag as I hopped off the tatami platform.

"It was nice meeting you, Hitomi-chan" Kana said as I slipped on my shoes. Kanji opened the door for me as I quickly bowed to Kana before swiftly exiting the shop. To my surprise, the sun was already setting, turning the sky a nice golden-orange color. Once Kanji had closed the door, the two of us walked to the Dojima residence side by side in silence.

"Uh… My Ma didn't say anything embarrassin' did she?" Kanji asked as we passed by Yomenaido Bookstore. I blinked as I looked over at him.

"Embarrassing? No… But, informal- yes" I replied. Kanji blinked twice at my answer and looked over at me with a raised brow.

"What kind of _informal_?" Kanji asked, sounding a bit embarrassed. I looked forward to avoid eye contact.

"Just informal things about you. I feel like I understand you a bit more, thanks to your mother" I explained. I now understand why you say that you weren't worthy of saying my first name. I'd like to thank you, but I know that you'd get embarrassed, so I won't… out loud anyways.

"Okay...?" Kanji muttered, sounding a bit confused. "Well, I guess if it wasn't embarrassin', I'll live." I felt something tickle in my throat as Kanji started to walk a bit ahead of me, a small smile on his lips. He suddenly turned around and began to walk backwards.

"You should have your mom come by someday so that I can learn more about your, Senpai" Kanji suggested, causing me to flinch. I stared at Kanji in surprise and sadness, slowly averting my gaze to the ground.

"That wouldn't sound half bad..." I muttered. "...If my mother still even remembers me."

"Huh?" Kanji asked, walking forward again by my side. I shook my head, causing my hair to sway.

"It's nothing. I just have some family troubles" I said simply. I didn't want to talk about it. Kanji must have gotten that vibe because he didn't say a word after that, occasionally patting my shoulder to comfort me I suppose.

When the two of us reached the Dojima residence, I said farewell and thanks to Kanji. Kanji nodded goodbye and turned around, making his way back home. It had gotten a bit dark, so I didn't spend much time outside.

"I'm here" I called out as I opened the door to the Dojima residence. Placing my my school bag next to me, I began to slip off my shoes as the sound of running feet approached me. I looked up and saw Nanako running- well, more like jogging- towards me with a curious look on her face. Nanako's twin pigtails bounced as she stopped in front of me, smiling.

"Hey, welcome home Big Sis!" Nanako greeted. I nodded as I finally got both my shoes off, sliding them towards the wall on my left. I picked up my school bag and pulled out Nanako's gloves that I had stuffed inside earlier on my way here.

"Here are your gloves, Nanako" I said as I gave Nanako her gloves. Nanako gasped at the sight of them, blushing slightly.

"Wow! They're so pretty!" Nanako exclaimed as she examined her new gloves.

"Make sure that these ones don't tear, okay? My friend worked hard to fix them for you" I instructed.

"Okay!" Nanako replied with a nod as she slipped on her gloves. I felt something tickle in my throat as I patted Nanako's head.

I then turned around and was about to head upstairs to put my bag away, when I heard Nanako say, "Hey, do you want to work on the garden? I want to use my new gloves!" I looked over my shoulder to Nanako, who was looking excited, and nodded in defeat. Nanako cheered in excitement and happily grabbed her two watering cans- Pinkie and Foxy. Nanako hasn't actually agreed with the name of "Foxy" yet, but she didn't really come up with a new name for it either- so while she calls it "Mr. Fox", I call it "Foxy".

Before Nanako rushed out the door to the garden, I told her to wait for me as I quickly switched out my skirt with a pair of shorts. Once I was changed, my hair also tied up into a ponytail, I quickly gathered the proper materials and Nanako and I headed outside to the garden. When we reached the garden, the most notable thing that we noticed was the rather large cabbages at the back and the newly ripe tomatoes. Nanako gasped at the sight of the cabbages and ran right over to them while carefully avoiding the other seedlings.

"Wow, these cabbages got really big!" Nanako exclaimed, crouching down next to them. I walked over to her and placed the wicker basket down. The cabbages had indeed grown large- all four of them. They looked like green, strangely shaped, pumpkins. I carefully began to harvest them, placing them neatly in the wicker basket. After doing so, I began to pick out the tomatoes as Nanako placed some fertilizer on top of the area we planted the corn seeds and watered the rest of the plants.

"Nanako, I'm thinking about going to Junes tomorrow after school. Do you want me to buy you anything?" I asked as Nanako and I headed back inside the Dojima residence, finished with our garden.

"Um..." Nanako hummed as I opened the door for her. "Oh! Fried chicken! I want fried chicken for dinner tomorrow!" I blinked in surprise at her request before mentally shrugging, closing the door behind me.

"Fried chicken, huh? Alright, I'll buy some" I replied with a nod. Nanako cheered and slipped off her shoes, quickly running towards the television and turning it on. Something tickled my throat as I slipped off my own shoes, carrying the basket of vegetables to the kitchen table. I needed another reason to go to Junes. I'd be a waste to go with a bag of three large cabbages, wait for a person who never showed, and then head home. At least this way, if I didn't find that woman from before, I can go and buy some fried chicken.

* * *

 ** _Wednesday, June 29th_ | _After school..._**

Once school was over, I headed straight home to pick up the cabbages. There was a very low chance that I was actually going to meet that woman again today, but I still had to go see. After getting my cabbages, I walked over to Junes- earning several stares of confusion from people. I easily ignored them as I walked, my mind jumping from different subjects.

When I arrived at Junes, I headed for the Junes food court entrance that lead to the grocery department. Upon entering the entrance, I noticed a familiar looking woman walking out of the elevator with a defeated look on her face. It was that lady from the other day…! Wow, I am incredibly lucky.

"Miss!" I called out, catching her attention. Upon seeing me, the woman rushed over to me with an expectant look. I nodded hello and extended my bag of cabbages to her.

"Here you are- three fresh Inaba grown cabbages" I said as she took the bag from me. The woman gasped at my words and opened the bag, her eyes widening.

"Oh my, what large cabbages! You may be young, but I'm very impressed!" the woman praised, looking up at me as she closed the bag once again.

"Thank you…?" I muttered, finding her words a bit strange. The woman gasped and pulled out her purse, shuffling through its contents.

"I know! Why don't you take this as a sort of reward? It's very good for digging!" the woman said as she pulled out a small, sharp gardening shovel. I took the shovel from her and stared at it. I suppose a shovel isn't necessarily a _bad_ thing...

"Thank you miss, you're too kind" I thanked, looked up at her. The woman smiled and pulled out her wallet.

"And here- some money for your troubles" the woman said as she handed me 6,500 yen. I stared at the money in my hands in surprise.

"T-Thank you..." I stuttered, a bit shocked. It wasn't much, but to receive money from a stranger… I suppose you can say it feels odd.

"Such beautiful Inaba-grown cabbages..." the woman sighed as she looked back inside the bag of cabbages. "I know my grandfather will be happy to see these!" The woman giggled and began to happily walk outside.

"Now I'm off to cook dinner! I'd better make something worth of these wonderful cabbages~!" the woman sang catching the attention of people passing by. I stared after the woman until she was out of my sight, thinking that she was a bit of a character.

After about two more minutes of staring, I finally let out a sigh and turned around. It's about time I go and buy that fried chicken Nanako wanted for dinner…

* * *

 ** _Thursday, June 30th_ | _Morning..._**

"Isn't the rainy season exhausting? I'm sure most of you aren't even motivated for this class… Right?"

I stared at Mr. Yamada as he let out an exhausted sigh. I looked over to the window, noticing the exhausted students in front of the wet glass. It was raining a few minutes ago during the lesson, the sound of raining filling the room as well as Yamada's rather bland voice.

"But I've gotta say, if you keep trying, something good will come of it someday" Yamada lecture. He then blinked in surprise and smiled, saying "Wow, I just said something inspirational." Some of the students applauded weakly, since it wasn't every day that Yamada would say something like that. Yamada smiled and raised his hand, silencing the applauding students.

"Just try not to take things too seriously. That'll only tire you out faster, right?" Yamada pointed out, earning some hums in agreement. Yamada rotated his shoulders and placed the textbook in his hands down to the desk.

"So, let's take a quick break. I have an interesting question for you" Yamada said as he looked around the classroom. I placed my pencil in between the pages of my notebook and looked up, prepared to be called on.

"Let's see… Hmm… Hitomi-chan!" Yamada called. I nodded and stood up.

"Which one of the following is the name of a real river? Lame Duck River, Pis Pis River, or Mahony's Phony River?" Yamada asked, a few stifled laughs and confused hums ringing out in the classroom. I blinked in surprise by the question. I was unaware of this one myself.

I thought about it for a moment before replying, "Pis Pis River."

"Correct! Sounds like you're officially an ex-city girl now!" Yamada said while applauding. I sat down as he laughed, quickly adding "Haha, not that it matters."

"Anyway, that river is in Nicaragua, and 'Pis Pis' is pronounced 'pie pie.' It shares the name with a water weed there" Yamada explained. I picked up my notebook and took notes. "Lots more places have silly names. There's "No Name Canyon" in Colorado, or the city of Uncertain, Texas in America." Yamada suddenly blinked in surprise and picked up his textbook, frantically scanning through the pages.

"Uh-oh, I wasted a lot of time on this. I hope I have enough time to cover everything that'll be on the test…" Yamada muttered, as he looked back at the clock. The class let out an audible sigh, earning a nervous chuckle from Yamada. This teacher can seriously be unorganized.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

Once school was over, I packed my things more slowly than usual to give me time and think about what I should do. There's been a recent talk about tests and exams recently from the teacher's lounge. Perhaps I should go straight home and study until Nanako arrives. Then, using the vegetables we harvested, I'll cook dinner. Nodding to myself, I closed my bag and exited the classroom.

After switching my slippers with my shoes, I started to walk towards the gate.

"Hey, Hitomi!" I heard a familiar voice call out to me. I stopped in my tracks and turned around, ignoring the glances made my way from the passing students. I noticed Chou, wearing her orange soccer jersey over a white t-shirt and white shorts, waving at me from the outdoor hallway that connected the main building to the west wing- where most of the clubs were. I blinked before walking towards her.

"Hello, Chou-chan. Is something wrong?" I asked as I approached her. Chou made a face as she leaned on one of the pillars, crossing her arms below her chest.

"Yeah, actually" Chou sighed. "We're running short on people for practice. I know you're good at basketball, so can you lend your legs to the soccer team?" I blinked in surprise at her proposal. I had made plans for the rest of the day just now… but I can't abandoned a friend in need.

"… Alright. I use to play soccer back in the city" I agreed with a nod. Chou sighed in relief before smiling brightly at me.

"You're a lifesaver. Let's go!" Chou cheered, motioning me to follow her.

* * *

"Hey everyone, gather 'round!" Chou called out as she and I walked outside of the girl's locker room to the field. Thankfully, there was a spare soccer jersey that I could wear- a dark green one- that I wore over a white t-shirt and black shorts. Girls of all different physique and height ran towards us at Chou's command, standing together in a straight line. So, Chou is the captain?

"This is Hitomi Narukami, the transfer student from class 2-2. She'll be helping us practice today" Chou introduced, gesturing towards me.

"Thanks for the help" the team said in unison as they bowed.

"I'll do what I can" I replied as I bowed in return. We all stood up and looked at Chou, waiting for instructions.

"Alright, now that introductions are out of the way..." Chou began as she looked at everyone in the eyes- including mine. "Let's do four laps 'round the track then start practicing our dribbling!" The team shouted "Yes!" in reply before all running towards the track that wasn't very far from the field. Chou turned to me and nodded. I nodded back and the two of us quickly caught up with the team, leading them to the track.

After everyone ran four laps around the track, we all ran back to the field and started practicing our dribbling by kicking balls to a partner across from us. Since I was a special case, I was paired up with Chou.

Once the balls were given out to each pair, we all started kicking. I was the first one to kick between Chou and I- since Chou wanted to test out my abilities. I kicked the soccer ball over to her, the ball rolling towards her with speed and finesse.

"Hey, nice kicks Hitomi! You really _do_ know how to play" Chou whistled as she stopped the ball with her foot. I blinked in confusion at her comment and tilted my head slightly as she kicked the ball back to me.

"Did you think I was lying earlier?" I asked, stopping the ball.

"Lying? No, 'course not" Chou began as I kicked the ball to her. "I just thought that with the basketball team and all, you would be stronger with your arms. Guess you're pretty well balance with both sports _and_ the books, huh?" Chou laughed as she stopped the ball, quickly kicking it back to me.

"...I suppose" I muttered shyly, a bit embarrassed by her comment as I stopped the ball.

"Whoa, how'd I end up out here?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I blinked in surprise and looked over my shoulder, noticing Ebihara looking a bit lost with a white plastic bag in his right hand.

"OMG, IT'S AKI!" two girls next to me squealed, causing me to jump in surprise. Aki blinked in surprise at their squeals and looked over at us.

"Hi, Aki!" the rest of the team- besides from Chou and I- greeted. Ebihara smiled at them slyly, placing a hand on his hip.

"Hiya, girls. I see you've been working up a nice sweat" Ebihara cooed. The girls, besides from Chou and myself, all squealed and giggled. Wanting a bit of silence, I walked over to Ebihara, catching his attention.

"Ebihara-san, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Hm? I didn't know you were helping out the soccer team, too" Ebihara said as he blinked, completely ignoring my question.

"...I seem to be everyone's go-to-girl" I replied bluntly, a bit sour at the fact that he ignored my question.

"Heh, sounds about right. You're pretty open minded, so it's easy to talk to you… That and you have this kinda air that draws people in" Ebihara pointed out, leaning towards me a little. I blinked in surprise at his explanation and leaned back a little.

"Hey, are you here to distract my team or to pass out water bottles to your _own_ team?" Chou asked with a tone as she popped in between us. I took a step back as Ebihara stood straight.

"Nagase… As playful as ever" Ebihara greeted, sarcastically.

He then sighed and eyed Chou from top to bottom, commenting, "You know, you should really drop that whole mean attitude. You have a cute face and nice legs- I'm sure with a pinch of makeup you'd start getting more attention."

"Well maybe I _don't_ want to get any attention. Unlike you, I don't want people screaming my name whenever I pass by- talk about annoying" Chou huffed, clearly annoyed. I couldn't help but blink in surprise by Chou's tone. So far, it seems that Chou doesn't necessarily like Ebihara… or Nise for that matter. Ebihara raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Oh? Well, it's true that it can get pretty loud at time; but it's nice to feel appreciated" Ebihara explained.

"Whatever. It's about time you left" Chou huffed, turning her back on him. I looked up at Ebihara as he shrugged. He nodded goodbye to me and smiled at the rest of the team- earning a synchronized squeal from them.

Once Ebihara was gone, I turned around to face the team as Chou sighed.

"What are you all looking at? He's gone, so start practicing! No one said you were on break!" Chou snapped, causing the girls to stop squealing and start working once again. Chou sighed and looked over at me, a hint of disappointment and frustration in her eyes. Understanding what she wanted, I nodded and the two of us headed back in line to start practicing our dribbling.

* * *

"Alright, good work everyone" Chou panted as she wiped the sweat off her face using her arm. Practice was over and all clubs was soon expected to start cleaning up. Any student who stayed inside the school after six would receive a punishment. Anyone found later than that would face serious consequences.

"Who's on cleaning duty?" Chou asked. The team all looked at each other.

"Actually... We're all gonna hit the train to Okina City and watch that new movie that came out..." a girl with short black hair explained.

"What?! So _I'm_ cleaning up, again?!" Chou asked in disbelief. The girls all apologized and began to walk towards the locker room, when they suddenly split into two lines, a tall boy with light brown eyes and a red face walked towards Chou and I.

"Uh, um… H-Hey, Chou-chan!" the boy stuttered, stopping right in front of her. I took a few steps back away from them to give them privacy. "Practice is over, right? D-Do you wanna, um…?"

"So it _is_ true!" I heard someone familiar say. I blinked in surprise and looked around- noticing Kou jogging towards me with a big grin on her face.

"Hitomi-chan, you really are helping out Nagase! You nice helper, you!" Kou laughed as she playfully punched my arm. I blinked at her as I rubbed my arm. Kou looked over to Chou and placed her hands on her hips.

"Yo, Nagase! A little overtime practice and then clean up right? Let's go!" Kou cheered, sounding excited. I looked over to Chou and the boy, who looked a bit surprised- if not confused; and looked back at Kou.

"Actually, it seems that boy want's to take Chou-chan somewhere" I said, causing Kou to blink in surprise.

"Huh? You mean like on a date?" Kou asked. I shrugged, not sure of it myself. Kou and I looked back over to Chou, just in time to see her glance back at the boy with cold eyes.

"...As you can see, I'm _not_ done. Seeya" Chou said coldly before walking over to us.

"Huh? Oh, uh… Would you mind if I waited for you? O-Or am I in the way?" the boy asked, causing Chou to stop. Chou sighed and turned around, glaring at the boy.

"Yes. You _are_ in the way. We need to concentrate" Chou said coldly. The boy flinched at Chou's coldness and looked down in defeat. With that Chou huffed and walked over to us, keeping her back turned to the boy.

"Nagase…!" Kou muttered, trying to point out the sad boy in front of us. Chou simply 'hump'ed, and looked away, causing Kou to sigh.

"Ahaha, sorry about her! Got soccer on the brain, y'know? She's been having a bad day, she's usually not so mean..." Kou laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. The boy nodded slowly before turning around and walking off the way he came. The team, who had stayed and watched the whole thing, walked over to the three of us with questioning looks.

"Chou, don't you think that was a little harsh? The poor guy _just_ wanted to ask you out" one girl with bleach hair commented. Chou turned around to face them, a bored look on her face.

"I was busy, so I rejected him" Chou said simply with a shrug. I blinked in surprise at this new attitude of Chou's. She's never like this when it comes to sports… or Kou. Does she not like boys in general?

"But the way you said it made you sound like a complete jerk" the girl with the short black hair pointed out. "Oh, was he not your type? Then what about Aki-kun? Think you'd go for a guy like him?"

"Ugh. _Not_ in a million years" Chou groaned, sounding disgusted.

"Really? I mean, yeah, he's a bit of a flirt, but don't you think he's kinda hot?" the short black haired girl asked, causing the others to giggle in agreement. Chou stared at the with a blank expression, as if bored.

"...Boys annoy me" Chou replied bluntly. The team stopped giggling and blinked in surprise.

"They do? How 'bout girls, then?" a girl with red hair asked, teasingly.

"Knock it off, Chou's not like that! She was even dating back in middle school- right, bro?" a girl with brown haired asked. Chou didn't say anything for a while, looking a bit hurt.

"...That was in the past" Chou muttered.

"Ohhh, I get it. You've got higher standards now, huh?" the girl with bleach hair asked, sounding a bit annoyed. "Must be nice to be so popular that you can get any dude you want! Us 'normal' girls wouldn't _possibly_ understand!" The team seem to have thought the same thing, nodding in agreement. Chou didn't say anything, still looking a bit hurt at the earlier comment.

"We're outta here" the girls scoffed, turning around and walking towards the locker room. Once all the girls were gone, I looked over to Chou.

"Hey, Nagase… You okay?" Kou asked as she placed a hand on Chou's shoulder.

"Yeah… I don't care" Chou muttered, her earlier look of pain vanishing. "Boys are a pain in the ass, right, Hitomi?" I blinked twice at the sudden question.

"Um… I suppose some boys are" I replied. Chou and Kou looked at me, as if somewhat surprised by my answer. I rubbed the back of my neck and said, "Sorry, I'm not the best person to ask since I hang out with Hanamura, Nise-kun, and Kanji-kun."

"Whoa, you hang out with Kanji Tatsumi?! That really tall guy?!" Kou asked, holding her other hand up way above her head. I nodded in reply. For some reason, Kou looks amazed.

"Hey, if we put a wig on him and a bra with fake boobs, you think he can play with us for an upcoming game?" Kou asked. I stared at her in surprise, taking in what she had just asked.

"...I don't think he'd be very cooperative" I replied slowly. I can't really imagine Kanji as a girl… Wearing a bra would probably break him.

"The bra with the fake boobs is a bit much, isn't it?" Kou hummed, realizing what she had said. I nodded.

"Yeah… But maybe he wouldn't mind the wig" I pointed out. Kou laughed.

"...You guys are seriously weird" Chou suddenly commented. Kou and I looked over at Chou and blink.

"Huh? Well yeah- but that's what makes us your friends, right?" Kou asked. Chou blinked in reply and stared at us. Slowly, her lips curled into a sheepish smile.

"...Haha, yeah. That's true" Chou giggled. I felt the corners of my lips twitch, glad to see the old Chou back. But I wondered...

"If you don't mind… What is it about boys that you dislike so much?" I asked. Chou looked at me and blinked. She averted her eyes for a moment and hummed.

"It's like… Guys don't even know me, but they're always coming up and asking me out. What do they know about me, you know? It's a pain" Chou explained, letting out a sigh. I nodded slowly, understanding where she was coming from.

"I see… That makes sense, I can understand why you would think boys are annoying" I commented. Chou smiled at my words and walked up to me, slapping me on the back.

"Right? You know where I'm coming from!" Chou cheered, seeming happy. "Alright, enough jibber-jabber! We have some practice to do and then have to clean up!" Kou nodded and ran over to one side field of the field, picking up a random ball.

"Come on, Hitomi! You too" Chou instructed, as she grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the center of the field. I blinked rapidly in surprise, a drop of sweat rolling down my jaw.

"M-Me too…?" I muttered. Oh no… I'm going to be sore tomorrow…

* * *

 ** _Friday, July 1st_ | _After school..._**

School went by rather fast today. There was no interesting lecture nor interesting moments. But as I suspected, there will be several tests tomorrow as well as an exam sometime around the 12th of July. I better go over all my notes for the next few weeks before the exam.

Once my things were packed, I closed my bag and stood up.

"Hey, Narukami-chan, I have a question to ask!" Nise suddenly said, popping in front of me while leaning on my desk. I blinked rapidly in surprise, taking a step back.

"... What is it, Nise-kun?" I asked calmly, hiding the fact that he nearly scared me to death.

"There's this shop in town that I absolutely _adore_!" Nise began, looking extremely happy. "It's like, the best thing here! Have you seen it? It's called Daidara Metalworks." I hummed in thought, trying to recall if I ever been into a shop by that name.

"Um… I've passed by it several time, but I've never actually been _inside_ it" I replied.

"Oh man! You need to check it out!" Nise exclaimed, placing his hands on my desk to support himself. "I'm planning on stopping by, wanna come with me?" I stared at Nise for a moment, deciding what to do. I've always managed to study for about an hour or so every night, so I should be caught up on my studies… I don't think hanging out with my friends will get in my way.

"... Alright, sure" I finally agreed. Nise cheered as his smile widened.

"Sweet! Oh but, I have to go and do something at the faculty office… Go ahead and wait for me at the rooftop, I'll be there before you know it!" Nise instructed before running out of the classroom. I felt something tickle my throat and the corner of my lips twitched as I watched Nise run out of the classroom. He seems really excited. I wonder what's inside the shop. Shaking my head, I followed Nise's instructions and headed for the roof top.

When I opened the door to the rooftop, I noticed that I wasn't alone. A girl stood with her back facing me, looking through the wired fence. I blinked in curiosity.

Walking over to the girl, I asked "Excuse me, is everything alright?" The girl jumped and turned around, her dark brown hair swaying wildly to the side as she did so. Her dark brown hair showed absolutely no sign of knowing the definition of "neatness" and her fiery brown eyes showing only sadness.

"Huh…?" the girl blinked. She suddenly frowned and glared at me saying, "Wh-What, don't just walk up to me and talk to me all of a sudden! Don't you know that's rude!?" I blinked rapidly in surprise, realizing that she was right.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude..." I apologized, taking a step back.

"Oh… Umm… W-Wait!" the girl stammered, waving her hands in a frantic manner. "S-Sorry for blowing up like that. It's fine. I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere or anything."

"Oh, I see..." I sighed, a bit relieved. I then looked up and stared at the girl's face. She seems to be mumbling and is obviously flustered. Does she have trouble speaking?

"What do you want? S-Stop staring at my face! I apologized didn't I?! Go away already!" the girl snapped.

"...I won't" I replied bluntly. The girl flinched.

"Wh-What…?" she gasped, blinking in surprise. "Normal people would have left by now, yelling something at me."

"Well, I've been told that I'm not exactly normal" I said with a shrug. I'm not entirely sure if it's a good thing yet…

"...You're weird" the girl muttered, averting her eyes. I blinked in surprise.

"Oh? Well, that's a first" I pointed out. Usually, other people would say that I was "unique" or "one of a kind". I don't think anyone's ever used weird before… Or maybe they did and I just forgot.

"Y-Yeah well… You're really _really_ weird! An outcast! Loser!" the girl shouted. I stared at her in surprise. Were all of those really necessary? The girl panted in exhaustion, clearly using too much of her breath.

"Ah… S-Sorry. I didn't mean it..." the girl apologized once she caught her breath. I nodded, telling her that I wasn't offended. "It's just… I'm really awkward and don't know how to talk really well to others. I don't really have a lot of friends because of it..." I stared at the girl in sympathy, my heart reaching out to her.

"I see..." I hummed. An idea suddenly came into my mind, and I asked "Do you want me to teach you? I can give you conversation lessons." The girl blushed at my proposal, her guard down.

"C-Conversation lessons?" the girl repeated, sounding intrigued. She then gasped and glared, saying "I-I don't need them! Leave me alone!" I stared at the girl as her face grew redder, clearly wanting to accept my proposal.

"...But if you really want to teach someone, then maybe I'll listen to you for a while, just to be nice..." the girl muttered, embarrassed. She really is rather awkward…

"Okay- let's begin" I said as I placed my hands on my hips. "Oh, my name is Hitomi by the way. Hitomi Narukami." The girl blinked in surprise before lowering her head.

"Oh… Um, m-my name is Yoko. Yoko Abe" the girl introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Abe-san" I said with a bow. Abe bowed back.

"So. The first tip is-" I began.

"What is it?" Abe asked, interrupting me.

"...to listen to people. Let the other person speak first all the way through _and then_ yourself" I continued.

"O-Oh…" Abe muttered, her face turning beat red.

"Another tip is to use empathetic reflecting skills. Basically, repeat what you heard or what you _think_ you heard to clarify it" I explained. Abe nodded slowly.

"Repeat what you heard or think you heard… O-Okay" she mumbled to herself.

"Try to stay on top of the news. Being familiar with such things is a good way to bring up conversations" I pointed out.

"O-Oh, like with that pop idol in town? I hear lots of girls in my class talk about him" Abe asked, looking a bit more relaxed than before.

"Exactly" I replied with a nod. "Next- speak in a formal manner to strangers. It's best to talk properly to a stranger, even if they are the same age and/or grade level as you, to show that you have manners. As a Japanese native, you should know how important manners are to us."

"Ugh, that's such a chore" Abe groaned while making a face. I started at Abe with a bored look, causing her to flinch.

"I-I mean… Um, 'I have difficulty talking in such a way due to the fact that it requires so much of my mental energy'..." Abe corrected. I nodded in aprroval.

"Not bad" I praised, earning a sheepish smile from her. "Now, lastly- know when _not_ to talk about yourself. People prefer not to talk about personal situations with a stranger- especially _hearing_ it from a stranger." Abe gasped, her face becoming bright red.

"Wh-What?!" she exclaimed. "Y-You should've told me this earlier! Oh, um… that's not right. Uh..." Abe hummed in thought for a moment, trying to think of the proper thing to say.

"'It would have been most desirable if you would have imparted this wisdom at a much earlier occasion.' Like that?" Abe asked.

"Yes, well done" I replied with a nod. Abe blushed and smiled, clearly glad that she was able to get things right.

"Um..." Abe began, averting her eyes shyly. "Th-Thank you. I've heard a lot of good rumors about you… And they're right, you really are nice. And really cool, too." I blinked in surprise at Abe's words, a bit stunned. So people have been hearing _good_ things about me? That's a first. I guess that's what happens when you help out a lot of people.

"I hope... You can teach me again. Bye!" Abe blurted out before running past me and running out the door. I felt the corner of my lips twitch as I watched the door quickly close behind her due to a sudden breeze. I want to help out as many people as I can here. This is supposed to be my fresh start. Where I can make friends and be known as "Hitomi", the girl with a heart. Not "Hachi", the girl with misfortune.

I blinked in surprise when the door suddenly open, a familiar head of brown hair popping out from behind it.

"Yo, I'm here!" Nise greeted with a smile. I walked over towards him as he looked behind him at the closed door. As I approached him Nise looked over at me and blinked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, did you talk to anyone before I came here? A girl just rushed down the stairs with the biggest smile on her face" Nise said, smiling in an exaggerated way as an example. Something tickled in my throat as I nodded.

"I helped her with some stuff" I explained simply.

"You helped her out, huh? Haha, it's just like you to be helping people out" Nise laughed, a soft pink dusting his cheeks.

"I suppose it is. I want to help as many people as I can here… It'll make the most out of my year, don't you agree?" I asked, looking up at the blue sky. I'll only be here for a year… During that year, I want people to know me- know that I came to care and developed a love for this town. It was where I was given friends and a relative that have accepted me and try to welcome me into their home as one of their own. I want to do what I can with my friends… before I have to say goodbye.

"Oh right… You're only staying for a year..." Nise muttered, catching my attention. He had a sad expression on his face, causing my heart to throb. The expression didn't suit his upbeat personality. Nise suddenly looked at me with a red face, the sad expression slowly turning into one of determination.

"Um, N-Narukami-chan… I, um… I-I..." Nise stuttered, his face becoming redder and redder. I couldn't help but blink in surprise and worry, nearly dropping my bag as I stood up on my tiptoes and touched Nise's forehead, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

"Is something wrong...?! You didn't suddenly catch a fever, did you?" I asked, my voice sounding so concerned it surprised me. Nise's face became even redder, making me even more worried. But after a moment, Nise grabbed my hand and shook his head; smiling.

"...No, nevermind. It's nothing" Nise reassured. I didn't fully believe him due to his red face, but… The pleasured and happy expression on his face released me of that worry. Not letting go of my hand, Nise chuckled as he dragged me towards the door.

"Sheesh, you're really cute, you know that?" Nise chuckled. I felt my face heat up drastically as my heart skipped a beat.

"Wha-! Wh-Where did that come from?" I stuttered, blinking rapidly. Nise chuckled in reply, holding the door for me to exit through. I huffed teasingly before walking by the door, Nise shortly following. The two of us talked about many things as we headed towards Daidara Metalworks.

* * *

I stared at the entrance of the Daidara Metalworks shop in front of me in both surprise and confusion. Of course, my face didn't seem to reflect the emotions I was feeling... based on the image the samurai helmet was shining at me. Yes, samurai helmet. And not just the helmet, the rest of the armor is standing in front of me as well. Ones from roughly the 18th or 19th century.

Despite having told Nise that I had walked past the Metalworks Shop several times before on my from and to school, I have never given it a second glance or much attention since it was not my goal to enter it. Which is why I am so baffled by the sight of a full, decked out samurai armor. It seemed to be in surprisingly good tradition, showing signs of constant cleaning.

"Narukami-chan? What're you doing? You're coming in, right?" I heard Nise suddenly asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up and over to my right where Nise was standing, his hand on the sliding door to the shop, ready to open. He looked slightly concerned yet confused as to why I had been staring at the samurai helmet for possibly the past two minutes. Blinking twice in nervousness and embarrassment, I nodded, causing him to smile. He slid the glass sliding door open and walked inside, a soft squeal of excitement escaping him. I was a bit worried as to what awaited me inside, based on this samurai armor… But, reluctantly, I followed Nise inside.

"Have you come to see my art? Please, look around. Take your time" a man, whom I am assuming is the owner, commented as we walked into the store; his voice sounding deep. It seemed to have vibrated me to my very soul.

"Whoo! I always get the chills when you talk, Old Man Daidara!" Nise squealed as he trembled in possible excitement, while I trembled in surprise and slight horror. I looked a bit over to the right and saw a bald man with a white cloth tied firmly to his head, making the X-shaped scar on his face very noticeable. He had a cigarette in his mouth, wearing a simple outfit of a white shirt- the sleeves rolled up tightly- and tan cargo pants. Owner Daidara didn't respond to Nise's remark, simply huffing with his arms crossed. It sent a shiver down my spine for some reason.

I couldn't help but stare blankly at the shop's content, sweat rolling down from my face rapidly like rain on a glass pane. I… was rather surprised that a shop such as _this_ existed in such a small town.

The shop, in itself, seemed to be more in the traditional style… and _small_. It was stacked nearly top to bottom with all sorts of weaponry and medieval samurai armor, either displayed on a shelf or a wired fence. Of course, most of the armor was displayed by being hanged on an armless and legless mannequins. The shop was also incredibly stuffy due to the open furnace that was about 90 degrees and a few steps behind Daidara. It didn't help that the already frightening man, who has been staring at me for a while as Nise examined some of the shelves, was smoking inside; creating more clouds of smoke that made it hard to see.

"Whoa, you got some new stuff today!" I heard Nise exclaimed, excitedly. I jolted and looked over to where Nise was standing, which was only a few feet in front of me, examining a pair of shoes that seem to be made with metal closely- a wide knife tip sticking out from the front of the shoes.

"I-Is this… Where you like to shop at, Nise-kun?" I asked, my voice cracking a bit in nervousness. "Everything looks very well made… A-Are they real?"

"Yep! Everything you see here is the genuine article!" Nise answered with a wide grin, lowering the shoes so that I could get a rather good look at it. They were made out of real metal, alright… Nise's grin slowly disappeared as it turned into more of a grimace, a drop of sweat rolling down his jaw.

"But of course... if I brought one of these home, my old man would use it to try and slice me" Nise chuckled weakly. "I don't actually shop here, but I _loooove_ checking out whatever the Old Man cooks up!" I nervously looked over to Diadara as Nise hummed happily, putting the shoes back on the shelf. To my surprise, Diadara was still staring rather intently at me, causing me to flinch and look away; unconsciously inching towards Nise. I was rather terrified of my life here… One wrong move, and Nise or myself might get seriously injured…!

"...Hey" I heard Daidara call out, causing me to stiffen as I felt possible goosebumps roll up my arms.

"Y-Yes?" I squeaked as I looked back over to him, shortly clearing my throat.

"Do you know what Yakitomorokoshi is?" Mr. Daidara asked. I blinked in confusion and tilted my head slightly.

"Huh? Well, of course I do… It's grilled corn" I replied as I cautiously walked over to the low table he stood behind, curious as to where the conversation was going. I must not have been the only one, because I soon heard footsteps follow after me once I stopped in front of the low table.

"Exactly" Mr. Daidara began with a nod of his head. "I thought that ordinary corn was used to make it, but I've heard that there's several kind able to grow here- Tetracaorn and Makaracorn."

"What kind of corn is that? I've never heard of those before" I heard Nise comment behind me. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Nise looking over to me, quizzically. I simply shrugged, hearing about those types of corn but never actually seen them. We then looked back over to Daidara, wanting to know more. Daidara said nothing at first, simply staring at me. Then his eyes suddenly narrowed, turning fierce. I flinched for a moment and almost felt like running away like Nise and Hanamura usually do when scared, but then I began to wonder… Is he challenging me? Is this a test for something? Thinking these things suddenly gave me a boost of courage and I stared right back at him. I even tilted my head downward a bit to seem a bit intimidating.

After another two or three minutes of this intense battle, Daidara suddenly asked, "How about it? Will you bring me one of each corn for a new weapon I want to make?"

"W-Weapon…?" I repeated, blinking in surprise which broke the staring battle we were in, a bit surprised.

"No way, you wanna make a weapon outta corn?!" Nise exclaimed, his eyes shining in excitement, slamming his hands down on the table.

Nise then looked over to me and squealed, "That's so cool! You gotta help him out, Narukami-chan!"

"H-Huh? B-But why me?" I asked, pointing at myself. It was a bit of a random. Daidara huffed causing me to look over to him, just in time to see a quick smirk appear and disappear from his face.

"This kid here likes to talk about you a lot. Says this silver haired girl he likes is really helpful. So I thought I'd ask for your help when I finally meet you…" Daidara explained. I blinked in surprise and looked over to Nise, my heart beating a different way. Nise's face turned bright red as he gasped in surprise.

"SH-SHUT UP, OLD MAN!" Nise shouted, slamming his hands on the counter. Daidara smirked at Nise's embarrassment, causing Nise to sigh.

"Sheesh, why do you gotta go and embarrass me like that?!" Nise muttered, rubbing the back of his head. Nise glanced over to me, our eyes meeting for a split second, before his face turned red again as he looked away. Confused, I tilted my head a bit before mentally shrugging.

With a sigh, I looked at Daidara and said, "Well… Okay, I will."

"Great, much appreciated" Daidara said with a nod of a head, a small smirk to show his appreciation. I nodded, feeling the corners of my lips twitch. It was a bit strange thought that he suddenly wanted corn… Nanako's corn is incredible!

"Well, if you're really gonna do it… You _have_ to let me know when you're gonna give them to him, okay Narukami-chan?! I want to see his genius in action!" Nise requested with a bright grin, seemingly recovered from his earlier embarrassment.

Slightly surprised by his quick recovery, I blinked rapidly and nodded, muttering the words "R-Rodger..." Nise threw his hands up into the air and cheered, suggesting that we headed out now so that I could get started on the corn project. Daidara agreed, and after bidding the man farewell for the day, Nise walked me to the Dojima residence to ensure I had a safe trip. He rambled on and on about how excited he was about seeing the corn being turned into something incredible the entire walk. Nise sure does have a lot of respect for Old Man Daidara, doesn't he?

* * *

 ** _Saturday, July 2nd | After School..._**

Right after school was over, I headed straight for Junes with Hanamura. I didn't know why but I had the strangest cravings for something sweet… Like white chocolate chip cookies. It was strange since I rarely eat sweet. I told Hanamura this when he had asked why I was heading to Junes with him, and he teased me about sounding like a pregnant woman. My face was heated up the rest of the walk over to Junes, Hanamura laughing all the while. To repay me though, he ended up buying me cookie dough so I can bake it at the Dojima residence for Nanako, Dojima, and I. I felt bad about it, but I _am_ lacking in money; so I couldn't do too much. I'll have to make sure to repay him back when I get the chance.

On my way to the Dojima residence so that I can start baking the cookies, I noticed a little girl standing all by her lonesome next to the Yomenaido bookstore. She had short brown hair tied to the side of her head, her bangs swept to the left of her face which made her brown eyes pop a bit more. She looked a bit sad as she looked to the left and right as if in search of someone, to my surprise… Curious and a bit worried for the girl, I walked over to her.

"Is something wrong?" I asked the little girl. She looked up at me with sad eyes and pouted.

"I-I don't know where my younger sister is..." she explained, looking down at her feet. I blinked in surprised.

"What's her name?" I asked, bending down a little to match her height.

"Hachi. I'm Hachiko- we're twins" the little girl explained.

"I see..." I hummed in amusement. It's not every day that you see twins. "Do you know where you saw her last?" Hachiko looked up at me and looked over to the right and hummed.

"Um, I wanted to walk home with my sister, but I don't know where she went off to. I've been waiting for her here, but she doesn't come at all..." Hachiko explained, crossing her arms over her chest. I felt my cheeks heat up slightly, finding Hachiko's attitude and pouted lips to be very cute.

"I see. Well, don't worry; I'll go look for her" I reassured as I stood up straight, dusting off my skirt with my left hand.

"Really? You'll find her, right?" Hachiko asked, her eyes bright in appreciation. I nodded in reply.

Hachiko smiled brightly and nodded, saying, "Remember, we're twins so she'll look exactly like me!"

"Right. Just stay here, okay? I'll be back before you know it" I said with a nod. Hachiko smiled and bowed in reply. I then turned and started to walk towards the Samegawa Flood Plains. The Flood Plains is the route that all students, both high school and elementary, take to head home. If she hasn't arrived to the Central District, then, she's most likely hanging around there.

* * *

Upon arriving at the Samegawa Flood Plains, I instantly began my search for Hachi. There was a rather small amount of people, so I was able to quickly spot a little girl who looked just like Hachiko standing underneath the gazebo.

"Hachi-chan?" I called out, causing the girl to turn around. With that response, I walked over to her and nodded hello.

"Hm? How do you know my name?" Hachi asked with a rather calm yet suspicious tone.

"It's okay, I'm not a bad person" I reassured, bending down a little. "Your older sister, Hachiko-chan, is looking for you. She got worried so I told her I'd find you."

"Oh, my older sister is looking for me..." Hachi sighed as she looked to the side.

She then sighed again and looked at me, saying, "Tell her that I'm here on the Flood Plain; I won't go anywhere." I blinked at her response and carefully place my bag of groceries and school bag down on the ground.

"Actually, I told her that I'd bring you to her" I pointed out.

"Huh? Oh..." Hachi grumbled, clearly not liking the idea. I couldn't help but stare at the young girl, wondering what was the cause of her clear attitude that screamed 'I don't want to see her'.

She then sighed and nodded, saying "Alright then, let's go." I nodded in reply and grabbed my things before standing up. I offered her my free hand, to which she made a face at, before rolling her eyes and taking it. We began to walk back to Central District in silence, a rather uncomfortable silence filling the air.

Curious and a bit concerned, I looked over to Hachi and finally decided to ask, "Are you not happy?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hachi asked, not looking up at me. I felt a bit nervous about her response for some reason and looked forward again, feeling a bead of sweat tickle my jawline.

"W-Well… Usually, twins would be glad to be reunited again. I know your sister is" I commented, nervously. It really wasn't any of my business to be poking around these girl's lifestyle, that I knew… It was even bringing back some painful memories. But for some reason, I just couldn't let it slide.

"...Well, that's how Hachiko is" Hachi began, her grip on my hand tightening. I blinked in surprise and looked down at the girl, noticing a rather pained expression on Hachi's face.

"Someone… Our teacher in fact, got us mixed up again. While she's all happy about it, I'm _not_ " Hachi explained bitterly.

"Oh, I get it… You want people to be able to identify you" I mused. Hachi's grip on my hand loosened as she let out a sigh.

"Yeah… I get sad when people don't… We're complete opposites, why can't they see it?" Hachi muttered, her voice cracking a bit at the end. I felt my heart sting a little at the sadness in her voice, feeling my own throat tensing up. The poor girl… She must be really hurt by it.

"...You know, I'd probably be able to tell you guys apart" I commented as I look forward to the road, causing Hachi's hand to flinch.

"R...Really?" Hachi asked, sounding a bit surprised and yet unconvinced. I nodded simply in reply.

"...Well, when we get back with my sister, we'll play a little game and see if you really _can_ tell us apart" Hachi snorted.

I nodded firmly, muttering, "Challenge accepted." I'm going to prove to Hachi that she and her sister _are_ different from each other.

* * *

"Hachi, there you are!" Hachiko called out once she spotted us, entering the Central District. Just like I had asked her, she stood exactly where she was when I first saw her. Hachiko ran over to us with a bright smile on her face, catching some of the other people's attention for a split moment before returning to their activity. Hachi to let go of my hand and calmly walked over to her sister.

"Where did you run off to?" Hachiko asked with a huff, placing her hands on her hips.

"I didn't run off anywhere. I just stayed over at the the Flood Plains" Hachi replied simply.

"Sheesh, where were you at a place like that? We were on our way home!" Hachiko huffed.

"Sorry" Hachi replied simply.

"Well, it's okay- I understand. I am the big sister after all!" Hachiko sighed, patting her chest with a proud smile.

She then looked up at me and smiled brightly, saying, "Thanks for bringing her back here, lady! You're really nice."

"It was no problem" I replied with a nod.

"Hey… Hachiko, let's play _that_ game before the lady runs off" Hachi suggested. Hachiko looked over to her sister and tilted her head.

"Huh?" Hachiko said as she blinked. She then smiled and nodded, saying "Well sure, okay!"

I blinked in surprise as I watched the twins move so that they were standing side by side. They then nodded and began to run around in circles and in crazy patterns, flailing their arms around and began to scream, causing me to flinch in surprise. People looked over at us, wondering what the commotion was, causing my face to heat up in embarrassment. Thankfully though, the girls stopped and stood next to each other and smiled- their expressions looking nearly the same.

" **Which one of us is Hachiko?** " they asked at the same time. I stared at the twins closely, glancing between the two.

"...You're Hachiko, and you're Hachi" I answered as I pointed at the respective twin. They both gasped and blinked in surprise.

"Wow, you got it right, lady!" Hachiko giggled, her cheeks turning rosy red.

"You… you really _can_ tell us apart" Hachi muttered in astonishment. I nodded as I felt my heart melt a bit at the sight of the two and bent down a bit.

"I told you so, didn't I?" I replied, patting Hachi's head gently. A small smile grew on Hachi's face by this and she then giggled. The sight of this made the corner of my lips twitch, happy to have gotten such a positive reaction out of her.

"You two take care now. Try not to separate from each other, okay?" I instructed as I stood back up.

" **Okay! Bye-bye, lady!** " the twins replied happily, both waving goodbye. I nodded and turned around, making my way to the Dojima residence.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, July 3rd_ | _Noon..._**

I was walking all by my lonesome on this fine, Sunday afternoon, completely bored with nothing special to do. Since it is Sunday today, it means that there is no school. I could always go back to the Dojima Residence and spend the rest of the day there- but it is far too nice of a day to do that. Besides, I want to take a break from studying. Sadly, everyone else seemed to be a bit busy with their own issues and Kujikawa is still recovering. I really don't like days like this… Where I'm the only one with free time on my hands and no one else is. I want to know my friends more and spend time with them. Being by myself like this… brings back some painful memories. I silently sighed and shook my head, stepping out of the darkness that was about to engulf my thoughts. I need to focus on heading over to Junes to buy some cookies. It's strange- but I just really want some cookies and someone I know to share with.

"Hey you, are you from around here?" a man's voice suddenly called out. I stopped in my tracks and blinked rapidly, caught off guard; spacing out in my thoughts just a moment ago. I looked over my shoulder and noticed a man in a gray business suit with dark hair and brown eyes staring at me.

"Me?" I asked to clarify, pointing at myself. The man nodded in reply.

"Well, I suppose you can say that..." I hummed, approaching the man.

"Do you know about the Mori Ranmaru?" the man asked.

"Mori Ranmaru...?" I repeated, tilting my head to the side. After a moment of going though my memory banks, I shook my head. "Sorry, I don't."

"Well, it's basically a legendary alcohol drink" the business man began. "Years ago, I was the manager of the Konishi Liquor Store right here in this town's very shopping district. But, I kind of lost the will to do business and I quit my job as the manager. Anyway… To be honest, I shouldn't have come out here to the country, but I can't go back empty-handed, you know?"

"I… suppose that makes sense" I replied, blinking nervously.

"You said you're from around here, right? Do you think you could find me Mori Ranmaru for me?" the businessman asked.

"Um… Why don't you just go to the Liquor Store and buy it yourself?" I asked. It would look bad for a teenager such as myself to go into an alcoholic beverage store. People in Japan can't even drink until they're 21!

"After I quit? No way, Konishi-san won't even allow me inside!" the businessman scoffed. "Just please do this for me, kid. I'll pay you!"

With a long sigh of defeat, I muttered "...Alright, fine." "But you shouldn't ask for people to do favors for you like this- it sends a bad image,"

"Thank you! I was really at a loss as to what to do!" the businessman chirped. I let out another long sigh as I began to drag my feet towards the Konishi Liquor Store. All I wanted was some cookies...

* * *

I stood awkwardly in front of the Konishi Liquor Store, my eyes locked on the bamboo sliding doors. I really… _really_ didn't want to go inside. What will I do when I ask the cashier for the drink? They'll just look at me in suspicion, no doubt. What if they ask for my ID? I'm not old enough to buy drinks yet! Gritting my teeth, I looked over to the left and right. It doesn't seem like anyone is watching me… With a long and exhausted sigh, I open the door with shaky hands and enter the store.

"E-Excuse me..." I called out shyly, my voice deepening unconsciously to make myself sound older.

"Welcome..." an unmotivated, but familiar voice, sighed as a figure walked out from the blue curtains. It was Naoki in the store's uniform. "Huh? You're... Narukami-senpai?!"

"Naoki-kun…!" I gasped. Naoki looked over to the blue curtains and leaned over the cashier, cupping the side of his mouth with his right hand. I leaned in as well, copying his pose.

"What are you doing here?" Naoki whispered, sounding a bit frustrated. "You're not old enough to drink!"

"I know, I know. I don't plan on drinking anything here anytime soon- not that I mean anything bad towards your family store" I replied, clarifying myself at the end- thinking I sounded a bit rude. "But I was asked by someone to buy a drink."

"I can't give you anything since you're only in high school, Senpai..." Naoki replied, giving me a bored yet firm expression.

"Please help me out, Konishi-kun. I don't want to let the person down..." I begged softly. Naoki and I stared at each other for a good solid 54 seconds but a drop of sweat rolled down Naoki's jaw, his expression turning lighter.

"...Okay" Naoki sighed in defeat, standing up right. " _Only_ if you treat me to some food over at Aiya's"

"Alright, I can do that..." I replied as I stood upright as well, a drop of sweat rolling down my jaw. I should really be getting a part-time job soon...

"What did this guy want?" Naoki sighed, crossing his arms.

"Something called a 'Mori Ranmaru'" I replied.

"The Mori Ranmaru?!" Naoki repeated, clearly shocked. His face turned sour, ready to shoot me down once again, but before he could, I took out my wallet and waved it in the air. Naoki stared at my wallet for a moment before glancing back at me. There must have been something in my frozen blank expression because Naoki sighed once again in defeat.

"...Fine. It's a bit pricy though" Naoki commented, clicking his tongue as he turned around.

"I can manage" I replied, my voice cracking. Oh boy… I'm not going to be able to make anything fun for a while… Goodbye cute lunches filled with yummy food. Hello rice, fruits, and fish.

Once Naoki grabbed the Mori Ranmaru- which to my surprise was a rather big bottle- Naoki informed his parents that he was going out with a friend. His father seemed alright about it, but his mother… His poor mother seemed afraid to let Naoki leave the shop- weeping and sobbing about not being able to live with herself if Naoki left as well… It broke my heart to hear the poor woman cry. And I think it hurt Naoki as well, because once he managed to convince his mother that he would be fine, he walked past me and towards the entrance with welled eyes- ready to spill tears. He managed not to, though, muttering that he had to stay stronger as he wiped the water from his eyes. My heart sank at the sight of this. I hope the best for the Konishi family...

"This place is pretty good, huh?" Naoki began as he swallowed the food in his mouth. With the Konishi Liquor Store being barely a block away, we entered the restaurant quickly after Naoki collected himself together. He seemed a bit better with each bite that he took, but he was still frowning in possible pain.

"I usually eat here a lot because it's so close to our place, but for some reason, I haven't eaten here recently" Naoki smiled, looking a bit refreshed. He looked like a real boy when he smiled- one that was part of the living. When he doesn't smile- he looks like a lifeless corpse from those American zombie movies. Except, he's not green… just pale.

"Why? Are you tired of the food?" I asked, curious. Naoki shook his head.

"Nah. I've been coming here since I was a kid, but for some reason I've never really gotten tired of it..." Naoki replied. An image of Nise's face appeared in the corner of my mind at Naoki's answer. I wouldn't be surprise if these two manage to get along.

"So, Naoki-kun… How has the shop been recently?" I asked.

"The liquor store is pretty busy, but… I can't do much to help" Naoki replied weakly, the sound of exhaustion heavy in his voice. "I mean, it's actually not our _business_ that's busy…"

"...You mean the media?" I clarified. Naoki nodded in reply.

"Most of the media has stopped coming around, but if there's nothing new to report on, sometimes they'll pop in" Naoki explained as he picked at his food.

"And the neighbors?" I asked.

"Still helping out while crying over me" Naoki scoffed softly. "Even the lady from the neighborhood association came. Funny how she never actually _spoke_ to Sis before..."

"She came up to me with a handkerchief and was all like, 'you need to live an admirable life for you sister'... Annoying" Naoki muttered, causing a sharp pain to pierce into my heart as a past memory began to surface. I quickly closed my eyes and repressed the memory, taking a deep breath through my nose to calm down. "I mean… what exactly _is_ an 'admirable life', anyways?"

"I don't know the answer to that one, I'm afraid…" I replied, my voice sounding so empty and sad to my surprise.

"So you're looking for the answer, too?" Naoki asked with a soft chuckle. He seemed a bit surprise yet refreshed by my answer. "...Living is hard, huh? Even though we're already going through it..."

"...It's like we're still learning how" I commented.

"Yeah..." Naoki hummed in agreement, taking a quick sip of his drink.

"You told me back during the camping trip that you've been through this once too, right?" he asked. My body twitched by his question, becoming tense for a moment before relaxing. Taking a deep breath, I nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I have. Actually, I still am" I began. "The moment I return back to the city where I live, everyone will start acting all sympathetic again." Naoki hummed in reply, sounding a bit interested as well as sympathetic.

"What happened to you? I-If you don't mind me asking..." Naoki asked shyly.

"...I lost someone very important to me. And because of it, I've been through a lot of suffering" I replied simply.

"Oh… I'm sorry about that" Naoki mumbled, sounding more upset than I was.

"It's fine… They're in a much better place, anyways" I reassured. Naoki didn't say anything for a bit, staring blankly at his food.

"...I wonder if Sis is in a better place?" Naoki asked absentmindedly as he stared at the soup in his bowl.

"Maybe, maybe not. For all we know, she could be watching over you" I replied simply. No one knows what happens after death… For me, it's scary to think about, so I often avoid it.

"Hm… I hope so" Naoki agreed. "Oh, sorry. I tend to talk a lot more when I'm with you…" Naoki apologised, his cheeks reddening a little as he looked away.

"It's fine. You need someone to talk to" I reassured. Looking down at my well mixed, and possibly cold bowl of rice and meat, I nodded to myself. "Well anyway, let's eat. Chinese food isn't good once it gets cold."

"Oh, you're right..." Naoki agreed, noticing the amount of time we have been talking to each other. He looked up and suddenly started smiling, looking over at me with a concerned yet humored expression.

"Haha, the chef's glaring at us…!" Naoki chuckled, sounding like a near flute to my ears. The corner of my lips twitched as I looked over to the chef. And just like Naoki said- he was glaring daggers at us. Something tickled my throat as I nodded in apology, Naoki and I shortly eating our meals.

After finishing our food, Naoki decided to pay last minute for the meal as a way to say thanks for having opened up to him about my past. I was in great debt to him and promised to hang out with him again soon- but not under the same circumstances. Naoki offered to come with me to deliver the alcohol to scold the businessman for having a high school student buy a drink for him, but I turned him down. The last thing I wanted was a heated argument from two men about alcohol and high school girls...

"Oh! It's a Mori Ranmaru!" the businessman exclaimed in delight once I had showed him the bottle. The man opened the cork-lid from the bottle and brought it up to his nose and sniffed the fragrance.

"Ah, that wonderful fragrance..." the businessman sighed, dreamily.

"Are you happy, now?" I asked, a bit annoyed due to all the trouble I had to go to get it. I enjoyed spending some time with Naoki, but now I'm practically broke. I'm not going to be able to make any good lunches for a while.

"Yeah, I am. You came all this way to help me out. I'm truly thankful" the businessman smiled. "Here, you deserved this, kid. Take it with all my thanks." The businessman tucked a hand into his suit pocket and pulled out a fat roll of money, handing it to me.

"Oh, t-this is too much, I-I can't!" I stuttered, surprised at the weight of the money. It was surprisingly heavy- must be around 56394 yen!

"It's fine! You're still in high school, right? You must have had some trouble getting this" the businessman chuckled. "Thanks once again. I better head home, now. Thanks once again!"

And with that, I watched the businessman happily walk away with the bottle of Mori Ranmaru in one hand. I looked down at the money in my hands and sighed. I guess this will solve my money issue for a while… Better save it up for emergencies.

* * *

 ** _Monday, July 4th_ | _Morning…_**

"...That's it for Pascal. Did you get all that in your notes?"

I nodded slightly in reply as I finished up my notes, cringing a little at the sound of Morooka's voice. There was something in his voice that made me squirm this morning...

"Your brains aren't smart enough to retain this by just listening. Make sure you write all this down in your notes!" Morooka barked, seeming as upset at humanity as usual. "Incidentally… it seems some students have been extorting money from each other at school again." A few students, including myself gasped softly in surprise, glancing around the room. To my surprise, there were a few boys who had the look of guilt on their faces. Morooka clicked his tongue as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"]You know… nothing good comes out of guys your age. You assholes can't even distinguish good from bad. How do those indiscreet punks get away with doing whatever they want in town, thinking they're some big shots!?" Morooka barked. The room became uncomfortably quiet today as Morooka began to scan the room for a victim.

"Let's see… Amagi… No, I think I'd rather go for Hanamura, who seems to be indiscreet!" Morooka shouted, causing lots of students- including Hanamura- to jump at the volume of his voice. "Deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning: which one uses one or several examples to draw a conclusion?"

"Tch, damn King Moron…" I heard Hanamura grumble. He must have been awake to sound so annoyed. "Psst, hey Narukami-chan… Which one?"

Blinking calmly, I lowered my head slightly and whispered, "Inductive reasoning." Hanamura grunted in reply and repeated my answer.

"Ahh… I suppose I underestimated you" Morooka mused in amusement and slight surprise. "Or did someone give you the answer? If you punks have a talent for anything, it's whispering to each other. Well, anyway, Hanamura is correct. Deductive reasoning is a reasoning which states that if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true."

Morooka turned around and began to write down a few key points on the chalkboard behind him regarding his lecture just now.

"I'd write that down if I were you. You'll be the ones crying your asses off when you get it wrong on the test!" Morooka barked without turning around, causing half the class to jump and begin writing.

"Errr… I guess he's right, but the way he says it pisses me off…!" Hanamura growled softly, catching my attention. Looking over my shoulder, Hanamura looked up at me with his chin on his notebook, making him look almost like a cute puppy, and smiled.

"…Narukami-chan, thanks, bruh. You just saved me from more of King Moron's shit talking…" Hanamura whispered. I stared at him and nodded in reply. Hanamura… You need to learn how to not drool on your notebooks.

* * *

 ** _After school…_**

Once school was over, I decided to head on to the Dojima Residence for the day and do some studying after I worked on the garden. Everyone seemed to have plans, leaving me all by my lonesome again, but at least I have something to do. I never would have expected sinusoidal functions would be so difficult.

As I walked down the Samegawa Flood Plains, redoing one of our math problems earlier in my head, I heard a man sigh: "Miyoko-san..." Blinking in surprise, I stop in my tracks and looked over to my left where a man not too much older than myself looking rather stressed.

Worried about the stranger's pale skin and sick expression, I asked, "Excuse me sir, is everything alright?" The man looked up at me in surprise, shortly realizing that I was talking to him.

"Oh, d-did you hear that?" the man asked nervously. I nodded in reply.

"Ahahahaha, well… I-It's okay, right?! People have the right to think of their beloved!" the man said with a nervous and cracking voice, waving his hands frantically in the air. His face was practically covered in sweat as his face began to redden.

"Beloved?" I asked as I blinked in surprise.

The man froze, realizing what he had said before letting loose a long sigh, "Yes, I'm getting married..."

"Then what's wrong? Shouldn't getting married be a good thing?" I asked. Despite never becoming romantically involved with someone, I certainly did think that it was cute to see a couple ready to be wed and would imagine myself in a white western gown when I become really _really_ bored.

"Well yeah, but..." the man began, rubbing the back of his neck as a bead of sweat fell from his jaw. He sighed once again and rain his hands through his hair. "Damn it… Everything _would_ be great if it wasn't for _him_..."

"Who?" I asked, curious. The man's face became white as sweat began to quickly form and fall from his face.

"W-Who am I talking about? That _horrendous_ furball..." the man replied. I stared at the man for a moment, processing what he had just said.

"Fur… furball?" I managed to repeat. The man gulped loudly and nodded.

"The c… ca..." the man began, trying to say something. Not able to hear him, I leaned in towards him slightly.

"ARGH! I'm scared!" the man suddenly screamed. Extremely caught off guard and startled, I took a few steps back, my feet nearly tripping over themselves.

"I can't even say it! Those fanged _demons_ are terrifying!" the man sobbed, tears as large as a grown man's thumb falling from his eyes.

"Fanged… You mean a cat?" I asked with a shaky breath, still slightly afraid from his earlier scream.

"ARRRGH!" the man screamed, causing my heart to speed up, my blood pulsing in fear and surprise.

"D-Don't say the 'c-word'!" the man whimpered, wiping his large tears away. Gulping, I blinked a few times and finally realized something... He must be an ailurophobe. Taking a few deep breaths, I calmed down and cleared my throat.

"Sorry about that..." I began. "Um… what is it about the 'fanged demons' that you dislike so much?" The man clicked his tongue, tears still falling as he hugged himself, shivering.

"The _meowing_ , and the _whiskers_ , and the _evil_ little claws! It's all just so scary..." the man explained. He let out another sigh, a bit shaky, and sniffed. "Of all the pets, Miyoko-san wants to have a c-c-cat…! She said we can't get married if I won't let her have one…!"

Blinking in surprise, I managed to comment, "That's… rather childish of her, actually"

"Isn't it?!" the man agreed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "ARRRGH! Why must you put me through this horrible test, Miyoko-san?!"

"Hmm..." I hummed, thinking of a way to help this man. I didn't want him to cancel his wedding simply because of a foolish cat. Besides from the cat problem, it seems as if this man wants to get married to his "Miyoko-san" desperately.

After a moment of silence, aside from the casual sniffing and sobbing from the man, I came up with an idea and suggested, "Well, what if I were to bring a cat here?" The man froze and stared at me with eyes that practically caused a terrified song to play from my suggestion.

"S-Stop it! Stop that right now!" he began, voice trembling. I blinked in response, tilting my head a bit. "What do you want? Money?!"

"Huh? N-No, I-" I began, blinking in surprise as I step forward towards the man.

The man however spun around and ran to the direction I had come, screaming "I'll give you money, just get away from meeee!"

I stared after the man in shock, rendering what had just happened. After a good solid minute, I managed to turn around and continue my way to the Dojima's Residence.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, July 5th_ | _After school..._**

Once school was over, I quickly packed my things to make sure that I could catch Nise before he left to go where ever.

"Nise-kun!" I called out, noticing that he was about ready to leave with Yukiko. Noticing my call for him, Nise stopped and turned around, causing Yukiko to leave by herself.

"Hm? What's up?" Nise asked as I stood up and walked over to him.

"I have the corn harvested at the place I'm staying at. Let's swing by and give them to Mr. Daidara" I explained to him. Nise gasped and leaned in towards me, his eyes having a certain sparkle in them.

"For real?!" Nise exclaimed. "Awesome, let's go!" Nise grabbed my hand and nearly dragged me like a rag doll all the way to the Dojima Residence and then to Daidara Metalworks.

"Yo, Old Man Daidara! We got your corn!" Nise wheezed, red face with sweat droplets the size of possible bullets falling off his face. Daidara didn't really seem to mind the fact that Nise looked liked he had just escaped possible death, his legs struggling to keep him up.

"I see..." Daidara hummed. Leaving Nise in his fragile state, I walked up to the table that Daidara stood behind and placed the plastic bag that held the corn on top of it. Daidara nodded thanks and looked inside the bag, pulling out the two corn I had placed inside.

"So this one's Tetracorn and the other one's Makaracorn…?" Daidara guessed, examining the vegetables. I nodded in reply. After examining the corn for a bit longer, Daidara looked up at me and nodded.

"Thank you for your cooperation" he thanked. I blinked and nodded.

"Aw, that's it? I was hopin' you would get a spark of inspiration..." Nise whined, appearing next to me in complete recovery. I looked down at the corn and stared at them for a while, thinking of how they could be weapons.

"But… what can you do with corn?" I hummed. "...Dual Knives?"

Suddenly, Daidara tightly grabbed the corn and raised them in the air with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Hey, wait right there for a sec!" Daidara suddenly exclaimed, turning around and ran behind his bookshelves of weapons. Nise and I were stunned by this actions and looked at each other. Shortly after, we start hearing the sound of a hammer pounding on metal furiously. The sharp sound sent shivers down my spine, causing my body to inch closer to Nise's unconsciously.

"Whoa, he's really fired up!" Nise chuckled, his boy seeming to tremble in excitement. I was glad that Nise was excited, but I'm not exactly feeling that same sensation.

Within a few minutes, Daidara came back to the cashier, sweat on his face as he said "Sorry about the wait! Inspiration suddenly struck and I had to go make something with the materials I had in the back." Nise jumped a bit, his excitement growing more and more in anticipation.

"Let me see! I wanna see!" Nise squealed, his voice nearly as high as a mouse. Daidara smirked for a split second before revealing the new weapons he made.

Nise gasped in awe, and exclaimed, "WHOA! It's grilled corn but has knife tips sticking out the end! Awesome!" I stared at the weapons in front of me in astonishment.

"This… Is truly impressive" I admitted, noticing the careful carvings on the blades.

"What would you like for a reward?" Daidara asked, seeming pleased at the fact that I appreciated his work.

"O-Oh no, there's no need" I rejected, shaking my head. "I feel like watching you work was more than enough." Daidara seemed rather surprise by my answer, his eyes wider than an anime character.

Daidara coughed, looking away and muttered, "...Feel free to stop by whenever you like with that young man there."

Nise chuckled as something in my throat tickled, the two of us nodding in agreement.

* * *

 ** _Wednesday, July 6th_ | _After school…_**

After school, I decided to make my way to the school rooftop. It had been a while since I went up there to relax. And there was also Abe- I haven't seen her for a while. I wonder if my speaking lessons helped her?

Opening the door to the roof, the first thing that caught my eye was a familiar figure standing near the edge, their short hair fluttering in the wind as it blew over us. The door closing by itself, I made my way over to Abe.

Possibly hearing my footsteps or the door, Abe turned around with red stained eyes and muttered, "Oh..." Surprised by the red color in her eyes, I blinked and stopped in my tracks.

"What… What's wrong? Were you crying?" I asked, wanting to make sure she wasn't injured.

"Yeah, 'cause your lessons didn't work!" Abe snapped, causing me to blink in surprise. "I just tried starting up a cheerful conversation with a girl in my class… B-But I got nervous all of a sudden… And I said something I wasn't even thinking!"

"Oh no… What did you say?" I asked, a drop of sweat rolling down my jaw. That wasn't exactly my fault… She just became nervous. Abe looked down at her feet in guilt, hiding her face from me.

"'Move aside, ugly; I'm comin' through!'" Abe muttered, her voice strained.

She looked back up at me with welled eyes that were ready to spill fresh tears, and asked, "Wh-What should I do? She just started crying..."

I blinked and asked, "Right now? You mean you left her there in the class?"

"Y-Yeah… I panicked and ran" Abe replied, wiping away her unspilled tears. Taking a deep breath, I slapped my hands, and school bag to some degree, to my hip and puffed out my chest.

"Well then, come on! You have to apologize to her!" I commanded, surprising Abe. I would be surprise to since I felt no physical change on my face but could hear the sternness in my voice.

"Wh-What?!" Abe squeaked. "I-I can't do that, after leaving her there!" I let out a long sigh, brushing my hair out of my eyes from a wind that blew over us.

"Listen, there will be times when you have to gather all the courage you can muster and face a problem you may or may not have caused. This is one of those times!" I began, passionately. "If you try your best to apologize and really mean it, I'm sure that the girl will understand and forgive you. It will take a lot of courage, but I'm sure that you can apologize for your mistake- it's what makes a person grow." Abe stared at me with wide and surprised eyes, clearly not expecting me to have said those things. There was a pause of silence as the wind blew over us for the third time.

"Y-You're right… I'll apologize to her" Abe stuttered, looking determined with a hint of hesitation. "Hurting others without apologizing is selfish and cowardly. And maybe after I do, I can try and have a real conversation with her. I can't keep using my bad conversation skills as an excuse…"

"Exactly" I agreed, nodding. "Come on. I'll walk with you back to your class. If you start to get nervous, I'll be there for you."

"R-Really?" Abe stuttered, blinking in surprise. I nodded in reply. Abe blinked once again, blushing a bit before looking away shyly.

"...You really are weird. But… thanks" Abe muttered, a small smile stretching her lips. Grabbing her bag, she took a deep breath and looked at me with gratitude. I nodded at her and the two of us made our way to her classroom. Just like Abe said a girl all by herself sat on her desk. I looked over to Abe and gave her a thumbs up. She let out a sigh and nodded.

"Okay, here goes… I'll do my best" Abe muttered with a shuddered breath, shortly gulping loudly. Raising her head up high, Abe opened the door and marched inside the classroom. I stayed where I was and watched the whole scene play out. The girl Abe made cry was surprisingly kind, forgiving Abe. It was a rather heart-warming scene.

After about a three minutes, I decided to make my leave, feeling that I was no longer needed.

* * *

On my way to the Dojima residence, ready to do some studying, I noticed something lying next to my scooter. Curious, I walked over to it and squatted down, causing the thing to move and look at me. A cat? Tilting my head to the side, I slowly showed my hand to the cat, causing it to seem a bit hesitant but moved it's head towards me.

"Hello there, Mr. Kitty… How long have you been here?" I asked softly as I gently petted the cat, causing it to purr. I continued to pet the cat, causing the purr to grow louder. This continued for another five minutes, the cat being surprisingly forgiving when I would accidentally pet it wrong.

"Wow, you're surprisingly well behaved…" I whistled, surprised. I then gasped, realizing something. Come to think of it, there was that man yesterday who was afraid of cats. I wonder…

* * *

 ** _Thursday, July 7th_ | _After school…_**

Once school was over, I asked Hanamura if there were any sales on fish at Junes. Hanamura was caught off guard by the question, startled by the specifics I asked, but answered that fish was 30% off today. I nodded in thanks to him before dashing off to hopefully find that man from the other day.

Arriving at Samegawa Flood Plain, I immediately spotted the gloomy man from the other day and called out, "Hello again, sir!" The man flinched, his face turning white, and looked over at my direction as I rushed over to him.

"Ah! Y-You're that girl who tried to bring me a c-c-c… c-word!" the man stuttered, taking five steps back when I approached him.

"Yes, I am" I said simply, with a nod. "Sir, you like your fiance, don't you?" The man's face suddenly turned bright red.

"Wh-Where are you getting at? Of course I do!" the man stuttered, glancing around in embarrassment.

He sighed and placed both of his hands to his chest, whimpering, "It broke my heart when she said we couldn't get married all because of that _cursed_ furrball…!" I blinked in surprise and alarm, taking a step forward to the man.

"Huh?! H-How are you alive then? Shouldn't you go to a doctor?!" I asked, sounding alarm and ready to drag him to the hospital. The man blinked at me in surprise, drops of sweat rolling down his jaw.

"What are you talking about?" the man asked.

"Your heart broke, so doesn't that mean that you have no pulse?" I asked.

The man stared at me for a moment before replying, "Uh… It's a figure of speech…"

"O-Oh… That makes sense..." I stuttered, feeling my face heat up in embarrassment. Clearing my throat, I tucked some of my hair behind my ear and sternly looked at the man.

"Well anyways, you need to face your fears" I began. "Go to Junes and buy a red goldfish. They're on sale for 30% off, and cats like them. If you give the fish to the cat, it'll be too busy eating to do anything to you and then you can pet it. Come back here and I'll take you to a nice cat."

"R… Really?" the man stuttered, looking surprised. I nodded firmly in reply. I want to help this man be happy. It's something that everyone deserves.

The man stared at me for a moment before tears welled up in his eyes and nodded, replying, "O-Okay… For Miyoko-san!" With that, the man ran off to Junes faster than any animal or vehicle. I felt a strong sensation of hope and possible determination fill me as I watched the man run.

* * *

Once the man returned with a bag of red goldfish, red in the face from running, I guided him over to the Dojima residence where the cat from yesterday laid again.

"This is the nice cat I told you about" I hummed, surprised that the cat was here again. Hearing my voice, the cat's ears twitched and it looked at me. My heart skipped a beat, the cuteness of the action surprisingly overwhelming. I… I guess the cat likes me?

"C-C-C-C-Cat..." the man stuttered furiously. I looked over my shoulder at him and saw that his body was trembling as he stood with his back pressed against the streetlamp across from the Dojima Residence. I stared at the man, watching him gulp and try to calm down. After a minute, the man shakily moved his legs and slowly approached the cat, crouching down.

"H-H-Here, kitty kitty… I have a f-fish for you…." the man stuttered, taking out the red goldfish and held it out to the cat. The cat's eyes seemed to gleam in excitement, the cat meowing as it happily stood up on it's legs and took the fish into it's mouth.

"O-Oh! I-It took it! The c-cat's eating the fish!" the man exclaimed in awe, watching the cat begin to eat the fish.

"See? It's not so bad" I pointed out. The man, without looking back at me, nodded in agreement.

A few minutes pass, when I spotted a few more cat's approach the man and the cat eating the fish.

"W-Whoa! There's more of them!" the man exclaimed, falling down on his butt. The other cats began to make their way to the man, meowing as they began to climb on the man, a majority liking his fingers.

"A-Are you alright, sir…?!" I asked, nervously as the number of cats causing the man to fall down to his back.

"I-I'm fine..." the man replied with a nervous smile. "Haha…! Their fur is so soft, it tickles!"

I blinked nervously, still a bit worried, and pointed out, "They must smell the fish on your hands. That's why they like you." The man didn't hear me as he started to chuckle, the number of cats growing to the point where I couldn't even see the man anymore.

"Hahahah! This is amazing! They're so cute!" I heard the man laugh under the mountain of cats. Worried, I finally decided to take action and shoo away the cat on the man.

"...Are you alright?" I asked the man, who was back at his feet. The man was covered in scratches from the cats and looked like a complete mess.

"Well, I've been better..." the man chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "But thanks to you, I'm not scared of cats anymore! Now I can get married to Miyoko-san!"

"I'm glad I was able to help you. May you and your fiance be happy!" I cheered, a warm feeling washing over me. The man beamed a bright smile, bowed, and made his way home.

* * *

 ** _Friday, July 8th_ | _Morning…_**

"Alright, today's lecture is on a famous Japanese collection of poetry called the 'Man-yoshu'" Hosoi began, starting the class. A few students, like myself, took out my pencil and notebook for the class, quickly writing down the subject and the date.

"'Man' means '10,000' in Japanese, but that doesn't mean it has 10,000 poems. In fact, it has _less_ than _half_ that" Hosoi began. "The ancient Japanese people used the term to point out how huge the collection was. Now, why don't we read a passage? …Oh wait, I just remembered! Today is Tanabata, the Japanese star festival! Why don't we study some poetry from the Man-yoshu that relates to Tanabata?"

"Let's see, since she's probably never seen a sky full of stars, let's pick on Hitomi-chan!" Hosoi chuckled, causing me to stand up on instinct at the sound of my name. "Which poet wrote the most poems about Tanabata in the Man-yoshu?"

"Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Mr. Hosoi. I may not look it to you, but I'm actually big fan of Tanabata and Man-yoshu" I answered. Some of the students chuckled by my answer as Hosoi blinked in surprise and awe.

"Impressive, Hitomi-chan! You are correct, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro has written 137 poems about Tanabata" Hosoi exclaimed softly. "I'm amazed how many he wrote. He was certainly a talented writer. Back then, Japanese people could relate their own lives to the myth of Tanabata, or the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi. You know, you guys have it good, the ancient Japanese weren't allowed to see each other even when they were dating…"

A few of the females sighed, some in glad that the ways of change while others sighed at the romantic way of the old times. Then there were students like me who were writing down notes.

* * *

 ** _After school..._**

I stared, stunned, at the dark blue hair bent down in front of me with slightly exhaustion.

"...You want me to help you out again?" I asked Kou, who had barged into my classroom immediately after the bell dismissing students for the day.

Kou chuckled nervously as she stood up, rubbing the back of her neck, saying, "Yeah, sorry about this. It's just gonna be for a day!"

"You're seriously running me ragged..." I sighed in exhaustion from recalling the previous times I helped her out. "But why do you need me to help out again? It seems like everything is going pretty well- no one seems to be lacking spirit." Kou looked down at her feet, her eyes turning a bit dark, causing me to blink.

"Well… It's actually _me_ " Kou giggled softly in slight shame. "I… I can't really go to practice for the next two days, and we have this game see… I don't want the team to slack off for two days since they've been doing so well and with some more work, we might be able to win the game!"

"...Where will you be?" I asked, worried. Kou flinched, looking up at me, before glancing away.

"I… can't answer that" Kou replied softly. I stared at Kou, sensing her slight shame and fear coming from her.

With a silent sigh, I rubbed the back of my neck and said, "...Alright, fine. One day, right?" Kou looked up at me in surprise and smiled weakly, her eyes watering.

"Yeah! Thanks so much, Hitomi-chan!" Kou cheered, jumping onto me with a big hug. Startled by her actions I stood stiffly with Kou's arms wrapped around me. I sighed and awkwardly patted the back of her head. Something is up with Kou… I suppose this can be the least I can do.

Even if it _is_ extremely exhausting.

* * *

2/5/17

A/N: Hello! It's me; Phantom. I just want to say a quick word of thanks to all of my readers who have been waiting for this chapter since- what?- November? Either way, I am just so grateful that you all have been enjoying the story and I plan on being a bit more active with the series. The problem before was that I have been working on roughly 7 separate projects. But, I finally realized that it was too much for a kid who is still attending high school, so I'm going to put most of my attention on this story. Hopefully, with the motivation from you guys and people reading the story on different sites, it'll help me continue on this story. :)  
Thank you all once again for being so paitent!


	18. The Death of King Moron and

_Possible trigger warning. Read chapter with caution._

* * *

 _Sunday, July 10th_ | _Morning..._

3rd POV

Somewhere, in the small rural town of Inaba, there is a young lad playing an old RPG game on his computer, furiously with skill bashing buttons on his silver Playstation controler. The young lad played his game with such rigor and excitement, his breathing is heavy. It's the final round on the game, the lad quickly demolishing health from the final boss. One can say that this young lad is… Not one that most people would associate with. And with the interior of his room, it would make sense. On the wall, there are several pictures of Yukiko Amagi and Kanji Tatsumi, several pictures cluttered together in their respective groups. The room overall was a mess- the futon still out and not made with some dirty laundry left on it, books and paper scattered on the floor. The lights were off and the window was covered with a thick yellow curtain, leaving only the light of the computer screen to light the room.

"It's his fault..." the young lad heaved as his toes gripped the protective rails of his rolling chair. "He did it… He did it!"

The young lad's unkempt black hair covered the lad's eyes as he played, a devilish grin stretching his lips the closer and closer he got to defeating the final boss.

Once the final boss was slain, the words "You Win!" appeared on screen, causing the lad to laugh hysterically and cry out: "Well now! You see that?! I did it! I'm amazing!"

Suddenly, the sound of police sirens echoed through the streets, causing the young lad to stop laughing and instantly jump up to his feet; rushing towards his curtained window. Opening it slightly, the young lad saw two police cars zoom by his street through the fog that was beginning to clear from the previous three nights and two days of rain. The young lad smirked at this, a tingling sensation filling him as he bit his bottom lip.

"Catch me if you can…!" the lad laughed evilly, closing the curtains.

* * *

 _Noon…_

Hitomi's POV

"Damnit!" Kanji grunted as he slammed his left fist to the counter next to him.

Everyone was sitting in complete silence as we listened to the sound of food sizzling in the Chinese restaurant, Aiya. Earlier, the news reported that Kinshiro Morooka, our home room teacher, was found dead while being hanged upside down on a water tower. I was the first to find out since earlier this morning, Dojima had to suddenly leave in the middle of breakfast; saying that something horrible has happened to Morooka. I immediately called the others and told them to keep an eye on the news. If anything were to happen, we had to meet up at Aiya's for lunch. And, well… Something had happened.

"I don't believe it! We followed our theory 'bout people on the news, and King Moron's never been on the news! Or T.V!" Kanji growled, vocally sharing his frustration about the whole situation. Kanji was sitting on the 5th stool form the L-shaped counter where Aiya's chef cooked on the other side. Hanamura, Nise, Yukiko, and I were sitting at a table across from him, Yukiko sitting on my right while Hanamura sat across from me and Nise next to him.

"Yeah, and he didn't appear on the Midnight Channel either" Yukiko pointed out.

Hanamura clicked his tongue in frustration and muttered, "I can't believe this happened…!"

"I thought the theory we had was actually pretty good… but maybe our idea was just a big coincidence" Nise sighed, looking rather upset that we had failed to save someone. "We gotta rethink everything. The Midnight Channel may not even be related to the murders!"

I flinched at Nise's words and lowered my head slightly, muttering, "It has to be…!"

"If it had to be, then why is King Moron dead?!" Hanamura snapped, causing me to flinch. I felt my eyes begin to sting, my heart throbbing painfully; causing me to tightly close my eyes.

"...I'm sorry, but I don't know" I replied.

I was just as confused as everyone else. It had been raining for the past three months and I have been keeping watch on the Midnight Channel all of those nights. No one appeared, like the others had said. So why… Why did Morooka die? Sure, he might not have been the kindest soul, but… No one, no matter how bad of a person they seem, shouldn't be killed in such a way. The only theory I have at the moment in regards to what's going on is that this was a copycat killing case. It's not related at all to the T.V world… But I can't prove that any without any evidence.

"...Hey, bruh- it's my bad. Sorry" I heard Hanamura say, the soft touch of someone- most likely Yukiko- patting my head, catching my attention. Opening my eyes, I looked up to Hanamura as he continued, "This is getting way bigger than us. If the cops can't nab this guy, why the hell did we think we could?" I flinched in surprise at Hanamura's words.

"Whoa, what're you saying?" Kanji began, catching our attention. "We started this thing 'cause the police can't tell their asses from their elbows. Yeah, we been outsmarted so far. But this killer is still runnin' around _our_ town! We give up now, and that shithead's gonna be on the loose forever. So what, you gonna puss out?! This ain't the _time_ for bitching and moaning… We just gotta keep on keepin' on!"

No one said anything back to Kanji's speech, their faces sinking. I closed my eyes firmly, and inhaled through my nose. Of course not… not _me_ anyways. But there will be times when we might lose hope… But like Kanji said- the killer is still running around Inaba. It might not be _my_ town, but it is most certainly an important town to me. It is the town where I have made friends and felt more alive in such a long time. I want it to stay that way as long as I am here.

Suddenly, the sound of a bowl was placed down in front of me, snapping me out of my thoughts and opened my eyes. I looked down in front of me and saw an _extremely_ large white bowl filled with meat and an egg on top of it.

"Huh?!" Hanamura exclaimed, surprised by the bowl of meat in front of me. I looked up over at Aika, who had been helping the chef cook, just in time to see Aika pick up another bowl of meat and hand it to Kanji.

"I don't think of any of us actually ordered this…!" Hanamura pointed out as Aika gave a bowl of meat to him and Yukiko. Aika didn't say anything for a moment as she picked up another bowl from the counter.

"It's on the house" Aika began as she walked over to Nise. "We usually only offer this to customers on rainy days, but..." I gasped softly in realization, sudden realization coming to me.

"Wait, that's…?!" I gasped, taking a gulp. "It takes understanding to accept it as a whole, knowledge to set the proper pace, courage to attack the mountain of meat and dedication to keep on eating! All these skills are needed to finish off the MEGA BEEF BOWL!"

There was a moment of silence, which was shortly broken by Hanamura who simply muttered in question, "...what?"

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I looked up at him, explaining, "Kou-chan told me about it once after I was helping the basketball train with their new recruits. I've wanted to try it ever since, to be honest."

"Well, thanks, but..." Yukiko began, chuckling a bit; presumably at me. "What's the occasion?"

"Eat it before it gets cold" Aika said simply before walking off to the back.

"Well, we have no choice but to finish this off~!" Nise chirped, snapping his chopsticks apart with a wide smile. I snapped my chopsticks apart and nodded to myself. I'm pretty generous, informed, and fearless. I don't know if it's enough to defeat the enemy… But here goes!

…

…

…

20 min. later...

Hanmura groaned as he whined, "I eat and I eat, but I still can't see the rice!"

The ones who seemed to be doing the most damage to their Mega Beef Bowl was Nise and Kanji, Nise taking the lead. Hanamura was ahead of me and Yukiko was dead last, her bowl looking as if she hadn't even touched it.

…

…

…

40 min. later...

Everyone is groaning in pain, the guy's heads thrown backed- unable to look at the bowl of meat and grease.

Gulp, I shifted around the meat, muttering; "Meat, meat, grease, grease, and more meat..."

"Seriously, this thing's a monster…!" Kanji groaned. Looking over at his bowl- it seemed as if he was the one who had eaten the most, then Nise, then myself, and then Hanamura and Yukiko tied for last place.

"Well, at least we were able to make some sort of dent… I think" Yukiko reassured, a bit unsure if we were victorious.

"This bowl is just way too big!" Hanamura whined. "I don't think I'll ever see the bottom of this thing!"

Looking down at my bowl of meat, I said, "If we keep pushing and don't give up, we'll figure out a way to do this."

"Yeah, you're right" I heard Nise agree. "We'll get there eventually if we keep tryin'!"

"Right, I have no doubt about it!" Yukiko also agreed.

"Yeah… Hell's yeah!" Kanji cheered, gradually getting enthusiastic.

"We may not be able to see the end now..." Hanamura began, "...but no matter what, we just gotta keep pushin' on."

"It won't be easy, but we have to keep at it..." I nodded, a bead of sweat rolling down my jaw. "But it's a pretty big bowl."

"Wha- dude!" Hanamura yelped, catching my attention. I looked over at him and blinked.

He chuckled nervously, a drop of sweat rolling down his cheek, as his eyebrow twitched, saying; "You are a major weirdo sometimes..."

Looking back down at my bowl, I sighed, placing my chopsticks together; "We fought a good fight, but I think it's over."

"That'll be 3,000 yen each" I heard Aika say. I looked up and blinked, a tad surprised to see Aika suddenly standing over us.

"You said it was on the house!" Hanamura and Nise squeaked.

"According to Kou-chan, the Mega Beef Bowl is only free if you finish it. If you fail to tame the majestic bowl of meat, then it's 3,000 yen" I explained, looking at the others.

"You could have told us that sooner so that'd we deny it! I don't have 3,000 yen on me- I'm broke!" Nise whimpered, tears forming in his eyes. I blinked rapidly in worry, a wave of guilt hitting me.

"Then get a _job_ , Nise!" Hanamura snapped.

"I can pay about for three people, myself included" I offered, taking out my wallet. Knowing that we were going to Aiya's, I made sure to bring some money.

"Sorry, but can you pay for mine?" Nise and Kanji asked, shyly. I nodded and pulled out the required money, handing it to Aika.

"You two are utterly useless..." Hanamura sighed as he and Yukiko handed their money. Everyone began to stand and make their way out of the restaurant, the guys heading out first followed by Yukiko. I stayed behind and approached Aika, who was cleaning our table, catching her attention.

"...Nakamura-san" I began with a bow, "Thank you."

Aika stared at me for a moment, her cheeks turning pink before looking away and muttering, "...Don't mention it." I felt a warm sensation wash over me as the corner of my lips twitched before walking out to catch up with the others.

* * *

"If Mr. Morooka was thrown into the television, then Berry would know something about it" I mused as Hanamura and I lead the other's towards the television in the Electronics department of Junes.

"Yeah, and I'm worried on how her recovery is coming along" I heard Yukiko add. I nodded in agreement, feeling slightly guilty for not visiting her during her training.

"Yo, Yosuke- 12 o'clock" I heard Nise point out, causing me to blink and look in the direction that Nise had pointed out, noticing three employee's talking with one another around the T.V aisle. Hanamura and I, along with everyone else, stopped at the sight of them.

"Why are there employee's here? Didn't you say that this department is usually empty?" Nise asked, causing me to look over at Hanamura, who looked just as confused.

"Hope they haven't found out about the T.V" Kanji humed, causing me to recall the scene that we happened just before we had entered. Just before entering the store, a security guard was being escorted out of the building by two of his colleges, screaming about children and strange creatures entering and leaving the televisions. Hanamura gulped loudly and jogged over to where the employee's where.

"Hi, guys! Something going on?" I heard Hanamura ask them as the rest of us walked towards them.

"Oh, Yosuke- perfect timing" one of the gentlemen, slightly taller than Hanamura but shorter than his two colleges, smiled; glad for some reason. "Some girl named 'Doll Berry' is looking for you." I blinked in surprise, my heart throbbing for some reason in pain at this fact. I looked down at my feet, placing a hand to my chest above heart. It hurts for some reason...

"What? 'Doll Berry'?" Hanamura asked, sounding confused. I blinked in surprise, realizing know that the person they might be talking about it...

"A girl is looking for _Yosuke_? What, does she have a mental illness or something?" Nise laughed, in disbelief. Hanamura turned around and growled at Nise who just smiled mischievously and stuck out his tongue. Looking forward, I made my way over to the area that the man Hanamura was talking to pointed. I could hear the sounds of footsteps after me, letting me know that the others were following. Walking around for a bit around the area, I heard a familiar voice being vibrated over to my left. Looking over, I saw none other than Berry sitting in a vibrating chair.

"This~ is~ amazing~!" Berry giggled happily, oblivious that the others and I were standing right in front of her.

"Whoa, what the-?! I mean, how'd she… Wait, she's _here_?!" Nise stuttered frantically, catching Berry's attention. Too focused on the comfort of the chair, she simply smiled, her blue fuzzy cheeks turning pink in pleasure.

"Aaaaahhh~ This~ really~ hits~ the spot~! This~ chair~ is~ pretty~ bear-ific~!" Berry giggled, the vibration for the chair vibrating her voice as well. I felt a warm sensation wash over me as the corner of my lips twitch. I also felt a bit relieved knowing that there really was no "Doll Berry" looking for Hanamura. I wasn't entirely sure why, but I was still relieved.

"You look very comfy there" I commented. Berry giggled in agreement, showing little to no sign of actually leaving the chair.

"What the heck are you thinking, comin' here?!" Hanamura snapped, still baffled at the fact that Berry was _actually_ here.

"Are you okay on this side, Berry?" Yukiko asked.

"It's~ about~ time~ you~ guys~ showed~ up~!" Berry hummed. "I've~ been~ waiting~ for~ bear-ever~!"

"You can wait outside of the T.V?" Kanji asked, nervously.

"Who knew that could happen!" Nise exclaimed, extremely stunned by the events.

"Berry is beary full of surprises" I joked, earning a wry chuckle from Yukiko and a groan from Nise.

"Oh god, please don't Narukami-chan… No bear jokes, I hear enough of them from this one" Nise groaned. I felt something tickle the back of my throat as I looked over to Nise and shrugged a little, causing him to blush.

"Yeah, of course I can leave the T.V! There _is_ an exit" Berry explained normally, her voice no longer vibrated, when Hanamura lowered the chair's strength. "It just never crossed my mind to actually use it before. But spending time with you all sparked my curiosity about this world! I did wonder if it was a good idea, but my feet started moving before I could decide."

I nodded in understanding, replying, "Yeah, well… that happens." I heard Hanamura grunt in slight disbelief and surprise by my response.

"Yay! I just knew that you would understand me, Sensei! Us girls have to have each other's back~!" Berry giggled happily, seeming pleased that I understood her reason. She then blinked and continued, "Oh, some guy asked me what my name was, so I told them 'I'm a doll- Berry!'"

I felt a bead of sweat roll down my jaw, thinking it was a strange response, as Hanamura muttered; "Oh, 'Doll Berry'... Makes sense."

"Listen, Berry- there's something really important we need to ask you" Hanamura began, turning off the chair.

Berry pouted as she hopped off, saying, "Yeah, what?"

"Uh… Let's go outside for this" I suggested, looking around. Those three employees might wonder if we found Berry and might come looking around.

"Oh, sounds like a good idea. To the secret headquarters!" Yukiko suddenly squealed, causing everyone- except Berry- to jump in surprise.

"If you shout it out like that, it's not gonna be a secret anymore, Yukiko!" Nise scolded. Yukiko immediately covered her mouth and apologised with a bow. Offer my hand to Berry, she happily took it and we all walked over to the Junes food court.

* * *

"You're absolutely positive that no one was inside the T.V since we were there? You _really_ didn't sense a single person?" Hanamura asked after Berry told us that no one had been in the T.V world, after we had explained the unusual circumstances to her.

"Yes! How many times do I have to tell you- yes!" Berry squeaked in frustration, waving her arms frantically. "I made a full recovery all on my bear-some self! I was utterly, totally, and 100% alone!"

Berry then sulked and sighed, tears welling up in her eyes as she muttered, "But I can understand if you don't believe me… My senses aren't that good lately anyways..." Feeling my face heat up at how cute she looked, I batted her soft, fuzzy head in comfort.

"I believe you, Berry" I hummed in a comforting tone. Berry looked at me and smiled with sparkling, glossy eyes.

"Oh! Sensei's heart is radiating pure kindness…!" Berry sighed, hugging me.

"Aw man" Hanamura sighed, catching my attention. "If King Moron never went into the T.V set, then..."

"...Then somebody must have killed him over in our world" I finished, scratching my right cheek. It has to be something like a copycat killing, right? The positing of the body might be the same, but the cause of death or maybe even the state of the body is different. If only we had some evidence from the investigation...

"He must have- I bet there's only one reason the murder would have killed him over here..." Yukiko began, catching our attention. "Because he stopped having success with the T.V."

"It is possible" Nise agreed, resting his chin on the palm of his head. "I mean, we _have_ saved three people in a row from dying over there."

"So they snuffed someone on our side this time to make sure it worked…? Damnit, it that's true… then we have no _way_ of preventing more murders unless we catch the killer!" Kanji growled, his teeth gritting audibly. Berry, who had been hugging onto me, finally let go and began to fan herself.

"Whew! It's sooooo hot out! I think it's time to get this thing off!" she whined, placing her hands to the sides of her head; ready to pop off her head.

"WHOA! Hey- no!" Hanamura yelped, jumping on Berry's head so that she wouldn't remove her head. I moved over a bit to avoid being hit by Berry's flailing arms as Hanamura continued, "Keep that thing on, we have kids watching! Seeing an empty mascot walkin' around would scar those kids for life! Have a little consideration!"

"Get off of me, you perv!" Berry squeaked in frustration and annoyance. Reaching for the zibber behind her head, Berry added, "Besides, I'm not empty anymore! Off it goes!"

Realizing that Berry was actually serious and saw her begin to unzip her head, I squeaked softly and said, "Wait- Berry!"

Right as Berry's head fell off, I grabbed the top part of her headless body suit and held it up, right as a breeze blew over us- causing me to blink in surprise.

Just like Berry had said, she wasn't empty anymore… Standing inside of the bear suit was a slender, rather pale girl with pretty blue eyes and long golden blonde hair that fluttered in the wind. Berry- or, I suppose, human Berry?- was covered in sweat, her body completely unclothed as I had thought.

"Mm! Nice breeze~!" Berry giggled, looking at me with a charming little smile. I felt multiple drops of sweat begin to roll down my jaw, unsure of how to feel towards this human version of Berry. She was very pretty, but it's a bit unsettling for me to see an _actual_ girl's face instead of cute, large eyes.

"Wha-?!" Hanamura squeaked, a tinge of pink on his cheek before screaming: "OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!"

"No… way…!" I heard Nise stutter, his left eyebrow twitching in disbelief. Berry ignored the surprised expressions of the others and leaned forward- I doing the same to keep Berry's new human body parts concealed- and she reached out for the drink I bought for her.

Taking a few sips, Berry sighed in delight and hummed, "...Yum! I feel totally refreshed!"

"Berry, put your arms through the sleeves..." I instructed, not wanting to hold her bear suit for ever. Berry nodded obediently and did as I say, the front part of her body perfectly protected.

Sighing, I asked, "So, um… How did you manage to get a human appearance like this?"

"Well, you see, I grew this body so that I could try and score with Nise-kun and Kanji-kun! I made sure to look like an extra cute girl so I wouldn't fail!" Berry giggled bashfully, smiling at Nise and Kanji with a blushed face. Surprised, I looked over t the duo who were both red in the face, drops of sweat rolling down their faces.

"Y-You grew a human body just to score?!" Nise stuttered, sounding rather angry.

Kanji was too stunned at the fact that Berry went through all the trouble of growing a female form that all he managed to say was: "H-Huh…?"

"I really wish we'd drop that subject..." Yukiko sighed, pursing her lips together.

"Oh yeah!" Berry gasped, catching my attention. She looked over at me and blinked nervously, placing her bear-suit hands to her chest and said shyly; "Sensei, are there any clothes around? I'm as naked as a newborn baby right now!"

"I noticed" I commented as more sweat fell from my face. I think one of the only things on the plus side about this is that Berry just might be flat-chested...

"Holy shit, you're-?!" all the guys squeaked, their faces becoming redder than it was before. Yukiko and Nise stood up, marching over to her.

"Berry, come with us!" Yukiko demanded, grabbing the front and back of Berry's bear suit to make sure that Berry's human body was perfectly concealed to the best of her abilities. "Whatever you do Nise, don't look down!"

"I don't plan on it- just keep her suit on!" Nise barked, looking over at me. When our eyes met, Nise immediately looked forward, his face turning even redder than before. With the strength and speed of the two, Nise and Yukiko swiftly dragged Berry away, leaving only Hanamura, Kanji, and myself alone.

"She said she's not hollow anymore… So, like… The bear grew a human inside herself…?" Kanji muttered, still looking and sounding embarrassed.

"Good for her" I said with a nod, looking over to Kanji who just blinked nervously at my response.

"I totally freaked out… What kinda creature would do that?! Damn bear!" Hanamura groaned, sitting down next to me in exhaustion.

"Berry is Berry. There's no way to explain her" I pointed out, patting Hanamura's back in comfort.

"Clearly… And it's not like this is hardly the first bizarre thing we've seen" Hanamura chuckled weakly. Looking back and forth between Hanamura and Kanji, I decided to give them a minute to get themselves together before suggesting that we head over to Kujikawa's place to check up on him.

* * *

"Mmmm-mmm! It's finally the season for Topsicles again!" Kanji cheered as he happily chewed on his fifth cherry flavored topsicle. Once Hanamura and Kanji had recovered from the extreme shock that was human Berry, I texted Yukiko to meet us in the shopping district in front of the Souzai Daigaku where Kanji had managed to convince the owner to give him and Hanamura some of her specialty Topsicles. The owner offered to give me some, but I wasn't exactly in a cherry mood, so I politely rejected her. But that didn't stop her from giving me one. And now I have a slowly melting topsicle in my hand.

"I'm glad that you're enjoying them Kanji-kun, but you might get a stomach ache if you eat any more. You did eat that Mega Beef Bowl earlier" I pointed out, concerned for Kanji. He simply smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry about me- I can eat a meal like that and twenty of these without getting sick!" Kanji reassured. However, that only caused me to become more worried.

"H-Hey, guys… Sorry we're late..." I heard Nise gasp, catching the others and my attention. I gasped in astonishment and the girl standing in front of Nise and Yukiko who had moved over to the side walk. It was Berry, dressed in a lovely white laced dress shirt with the collar popped out, a button or two undown, and a lovely red rose pinned to her left bosom. Berry was also wearing an elegant black knee high skirt with matching black panty-hose and black pumps to compliment it.

"So uh… Are you _Berry_?" Hanamura managed to ask, just as tranced as I was earlier.

"Oui, monsieur! The one and only~! What'd you guys think?" Berry giggled, doing a little twirl. I applauded, flustered, as I tried to think of the proper response to Berry's French.  
"Erm, um… C'est magnifique… Uh, i-it looks good on you" I complimented, feeling a bit embarrassed. I wasn't very good at French. English was more my forte thanks to Senpai.

"Don't encourage her- please..." Nise whispered, looking exhausted. Worried, I offered him my topsicle, to which he blushed and accepted with a shy smile.

"This is wrong… Come on, who are you really?" Hanamura protested, placing his hands on his hips with a disbelieving frown.

"Look, I didn't believe it at first either..." Nise sighed as he took a bite of the topsicle, looking a bit better than before. "But trust me- she's _definitely_ Berry... In fact, she's _so_ much like Berry, it's annoying." I blinked in surprise and looked over at Berry who was occupied in swaying her skirt to watch it dance.

"She went completely bear-serk in the boys underware department" Yukiko sighed, her face red in presumably embarrassment.

"Yukiko- don't" Nise and Hanamura said with a sigh.

"You think so?" Berry asked, looking over at Nise, hearing what he had said.

"Listen up here, Berry!" Nise sighed. "If you're gonna unzip and turn into a human, then you gotta control your impulses- _okay_?!" Berry winced at Nise's voice and looked down at the ground with sad eyes.

"Aw, but… It's my first time here..." Berry whimpered, sounding as if she was ready to cry. Feeling bad for Berry, I walked over to her and batted her head- which was pretty easy thanks to her being roughly two inches shorter than me… Around 5 feet, I'd say.

"N-No!" Nise began, sounding flustered. "W-We're not mad, we're just giving you advice!" Yukiko finished.

Berry looked up and over at them with a bright smile and sighed in relief, "Thank goodness! I was afraid that you two hated me now!"

"Ugh… this girl is alotta work, let me tell you" Nise sighed, shortly taking another bite of his topsicle.

"I'm tired just from watching, you guys" Hanamura and Kanji groaned at the same time.

"Oh, hey..." Yukiko began. "Has anyone seen Berry's head?"

I blinked in realization, muttering "Ah…!" I looked over at Hanamura who also looked over at me, a bead of sweat on his jaw.

"Shoot, we must have forgotten it back at the table" Hanamura sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll go get it, you guys stay here" I instructed, shortly running off before any of them could object. How would I have forgotten Berry's head of all things?

* * *

I blinked nervously at the empty table in front of me, scratching my right cheek.

"Oh dear… It's not here?" I muttered to myself. The place where Berry's head should have been left behind wasn't there… With this being Japan, there's no way that someone stole it… Which means that it was moved around somewhere in Junes. I hummed in thought as I crossed my arms over my chest. Which department should I even start looking at?

"Hm? Well, well! If it isn't Hitomi Narukami!" a familiar rather deep yet warming voice called it. I turned around and saw Hanase, Hanamura's father, approach me with a wide smile as if seeing a daughter he hadn't seen in years.

"O-Oh, hello Hanamura-san" I stuttered, feeling a bit shy once again about talking with Hanamura's father. It felt a little awkward

"Please, feel free to call me Hanase. Any friend of my goofball of a son is welcomed in my book!" Hanase laughed warmly, causing my earlier shyness to practically melt away. However, this didn't last very long when Hanase suddenly took my hand and extended it up, examining my arm. I let out a soft squeak in surprise.

"I see you're as slender as ever! You're barely packing in any meat on your bones!" Hanase laughed, lowering my arm and patting my hand in a comforting way to apologize for his sudden actions. "Y'know, my wife- Aimi- _loves_ cooking! You should come on over one day and eat dinner with us! I'm sure Yosuke would be very _very_ pleased with that." I blinked rapidly in surprise by the invitation. I was intrigued and wanted to go and meet Hanamura's mother… I suppose a dinner with his parent's would be an alright opportunity to do so.

"Erm, well… I-I suppose so? I'll think about it" I stuttered, eyeing Hanase's hands that were still holding mine.

"Wonderful!" Hanase cheered, letting go of my hand at last. "Oh, speaking of cooking- you were the one who cooked for Yosuke on his birthday right?"

I blinked in surprise at the question and nodded, saying, "Yes, that was me. I apologise if that took away you're family time with him."

"Pft- don't worry about it! His mother and I haven't seen our boy with a smile accompanied by tears in a long time!" Hanase chuckled, his brown eyes comforting me with a warmth I never knew existed. They had a similar feel to Hanamura's...

"That idiot- he was choked up all because _you_ had cooked and baked for him! When his mother found out- boy! She wanted to meet you desperately and thank you for opening her eyes as to how to properly celebrate Yosuke's birthday! Because of how busy we would be sometimes, we always went out to eat and buy a cake for him- nothing home made" Hanase rambled with laughs here and there. I felt my heart skip a beat for some reason at his story. So, I made Hanamura cry tears of joy…? My vision blurred for a moment as I felt my face heat up.

"Well, I..." I began, shyly. "I'm… glad that he enjoyed it..." I felt my heart skip another beat by this, causing me to place a hand on my chest.

After a moment, I gasped in realization, saying, "Oh, right! Um, if something was left on the tables here, where would they go?"

"Hm? Any lost objects can be found at the lost and found in the Grocery department near the seafood aisle" Hanase explained.

"I see. Thank you!" I said quickly with a bow before running off. I heard Hanase call out "You're welcome" as I ran.

Entering the grocery department, I began to frantically looking around for Berry head- remembering Hanamura's words about it being able to scar children. I wanted to find it quickly and save the innocent children.

As I wandered around, I noticed a familiar head of brown pigtails being confronted by a suspicious boy my age with black hair and a yellow shirt.

"...Nanako?" I muttered under my breath, able to recognise the girl. The boy suddenly began to reach forward towards Nanako, a devilish smirk stretching his lips. Startled, I ran over to the scene and slapped away the boy's hand before it touched Nanako.

"Big Sis…!" I heard her whimper, moving behind me. I stared at the boy as he growled, turning his attention at me- a drop of sweat rolling down his jaw.

The boy had a rather worrying appearance, with messy black hair that is parted slightly in the middle, an ashen complexion with a peach tint, and a beauty mark under his left eye. His eyes, which seem to scream at me the most, are unlike any that I have ever seen- being extremely deep and pitch black without visible pupils, shaded over his long eyelashes that surprisingly complimented his thin eyebrows and very pronounced lips.

"Is there something wrong..." I began, before realizing that I had seen this boy before. It wasn't exactly for very long, but… I blinked in realization, remembering him as the boy who tried to give Yukiko the 'D' as Nise put it.

"Oh, you're that one guy from before…!" I muttered under my breath.

"Who the… Who the hell are you?!" the boy asked, sounding slightly scared and yet angry. I stood my ground and lowered my head slightly, to make myself seem more intimidating towards him. It seemed to have worked, surprisingly enough, causing the boy to flinch and run away with the click of his tongue.

Sighing in relief, I looked over and patted Nanako's head, asking, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you Big Sis" Nanako smiled slightly, still looking a bit scared. "He was really scary… all I wanted was the pickled radish for Daddy..." I patted Nanako's head gently to comfort her.

"Well, I don't think he meant to be so scary about it. Maybe he was having a bad day" I said, not wanting Nanako to become negative.

"Maybe…" Nanko hummed, seeming to like that idea. "Anyway, what're you doing here?"

"Oh, that's right…!" I gasped, remembering my original goal. "...Well, it can wait. Why don't we go and buy some trout for dinner tonight? We'll be able to use the fresh veggies in our garden."

Nanako's face light up with a wide smile, cheering: "Yay, I'm shopping with Big Sis!"

* * *

"Took you long enough" Hanamura commented with a relieved tone as I ran towards the others where they had awaited me.

"Sorry, I had to swing by my house" I explained, panting softly as I handed Berry's head back to her.

"Oh, my beautiful head!" Berry sighed in relief, twirling around with her head in her arms. "I'm so glad that I got you back! Thank you, you're so nice to me Sensei!"

"You're welcome" I replied, taking a deep breath to regulate my breathing. "Are you happy you're not empty?"

Berry smiled and nodded, saying, "Yeah! But..." Berry looked down at her head, hiding a little behind it. "...It's just, I still have no idea who I am." I blinked in sympathy to Berry's dilemma before reaching out and patting her human head.

"Let me help you with your search, Berry. We'll find your inner you" I reassured, stroking her surprisingly soft hair.

"Se-Se-Se-Se-Se-Sensei!" Berry stammered, her eyes glistening with tears. She then giggled and smiled in gratitude, "Yeah! We're gonna find the real me together! With Ryo-kun!" I nodded in agreement, glad that she was happy again.

"Why is she… so perky?" I heard Kanji ask, catching my attention. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that everyone was watching the little scene Berry and I were playing, causing me to become embarrassed. Shyly, I stroked Berry's head once more before taking a step back.

"She's been acting like that all day" Yukiko explained. "She's like a little kid in Wonderland."

"Now if only she could behave herself- I'm sure that she'd be pretty cute" Nise sighed with a small smile, his arms crossed over his chest. Hanamura groaned loudly, catching our attention.

"Alright, _fine_. Take this" Hanamura sighed as he handed what appeared to be a 1000 yen bill to Kanji.

"Huh? What's that for?" Kanji asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Go get some Topsicles or ice cream and candy or whatever you want- just share it with Berry" Hanamura sighed.

"Look at that, you're loaded!" Berry exclaimed, surprised by Hanamura's generous actions.

"He is the Prince of Junes" I pointed out, causing Berry to hum in awe.

"I can't just take this from you" Kanji tried to reject, but Hanamura stuffed his hands into his pockets so that Kanji couldn't hand it to him.

"Think of it as a welcome-back party for Berry. Just don't go around making a racket" Hanamura replied with teasing smile.

"Looks like you have some use after all, huh Pervs-ke?" Berry joked.

Hanamura shot a look to Berry, growling, "Do you want the candy or not?"

"Wahh! I want it, I want it! I'm sorry!" Berry wailed, jogging in place, causing Hanamura to smirk.

"Nice job, Yosuke! That was very mature- er, most of it was!" Nise randomly complemented, catching my attention.

"Huh?" Hanamura humed, giving a bored look to Nise.

"You know, it's really nice to see your grown-up side. Acting like a real senpai and all" Nise continued, placing his hands on his hips. "I'm glad Yosuke's developing into such a mature adult. Because adults never sweat the small stuff, do they?" There was a pause of silence as we all stared at Nise in confusion as to what he was saying.

"Okay- you're acting stupid" Hanamura finally said with a sigh, breaking the silence. "You either have a favor to ask or you're up to something. I don't wanna play the guessing game, so spill- what is it?"

"Well, you see..." Nise began, looking away as a drop of sweat rolled down his jaw. "It's about Berry's clothes, that's all. We didn't have the money for them, so we charged the rest to _you_."

"WHAT?!" Hanamura yelped. "Hold on, you mean _I'm_ paying?! What the _hell_ , Nise?! I NEVER said you could do that!"

"Don't get mad at me! I'm broke remember?!" Nise snapped back. "Besides, no one else has a tab there and the difference between cheap and expensive is like, by a _digit_. Not my fault Junes is so expensive."

"That is seriously one of the most inconsiderate things you have ever done to me, man! You should know that I just bought a new motor and I'm broke!" Hanamura whimpered, angrily.

"Don't ya go and let Narukami-chan put stuff on your tab? Why not just a little bit more from us?" Nise pointed out, jerking his thumb over at me. I blinked nervously in guilt, sweat rolling down my face. I still have to pay Hanamura back...

"I let Narukami-chan do it because at least I know that whether I told her to or not, she's going to pay me back!" Hanamura began. I nodded shyly in agreement as he continued, "I'm pretty sure out of all of us, she's the most mature and kindest. Why don't you go and learn a few things from her, crybaby Nise?" Yukiko and I flinched by Hanamura's insult as Nise shot a dangerous glare.

"Oh, you have _crossed_ the line…!" Nise growled, rolling up his sleeves.

"Whoa hot stuff! There's no need to fight over me~!" Berry giggled bashfully, placing her hands to her cheeks.

"You shuddup!" Nise and Hanamura yelled, causing her to squeak and behind me.

"This is all you're stupid fault anyway! If you put even a single tear in it, I'll make your next set of clothes out of the bear hide you took off! Got it?!" Hanamura growled, pointing at Berry in a threatening manner. Berry nodded in understanding, shortly causing Hanamura and Nise to return to their arguing.

"Yo Berry, don't let it get you down. C'mon. Let's go get some Topsicles" Kanji said caringly to Berry as he passed by us.

"Yay!" Berry giggled, her face turning red. But before running off, she looked over at me in surprise. "Oh! Sensei, I almost forgot!"

Berry stuffed a hand into the pocket of her skirt and handed me a pair of glasses, saying,"Here- these are for Ryo-kun. Please be sure he get's them."

"Sure, will do" I said with a nod, putting them into my own pocket. Berry smiled and turned around, running off to where Kanji patiently waited. A warm feeling washed over me at the sight before I turned around, facing the arguing duo.

"Um..." Yukiko began, catching my attention. "Let's go on ahead… I think they're going to be a while."

Looking back at the two, I nodded in agreement and replied, "Sounds good."

* * *

Yukiko and I walked together towards the Marukyu Tofu shop, still hearing Nise and Hanamura argue. Just as we begin to approach the shop, a familiar looking boy stepped out. Noticing us, the boy looked over and approached us. I blinked in realization, identifying the boy as the girl who's trying to be a guy.

"So, we meet again… I had a feeling you'd come" the girl huffed, looking rather pleased and yet annoyed that we were here.

"Wait, aren't you…?" Yukiko hummed, trying to recall who the detective girl was.

The girl didn't pay her much mind as she looked at me with a pair of rather menacing eyes, asking, "You here to win over Ryo Kujikawa next?" I blinked in surprise by the girl's word, slightly shocked.

Suddenly, I heard Hanamura call out: "Narukami-chan!" Blinking in surprise, I turned around and saw Hanamura and Nise run over to me, shortly standing in front of Yukiko and I.

"Oh, so you're all here" the girl continued as I walked over to Hanamura's side so I can continue to be a part of the conversation. "I haven't properly introduced myself. Naoto Shirogane. Detective. I'm currently helping the police with the investigations of the serial murders." I blinked in surprise at the girl's introduction. Such a small girl is a detective? Ah, I guess that explains her voice and clothes...

"You're a detective?" Yukiko asked, surprised.

"That's right" Shirogane confirmed with a nod. "Actually, would you mind if I asked your take on something?"

"Wha-What is it?" Hanamura asked, sounding a bit nervous. To calm him down a bit, I gently touched his arm, causing him to flinch and then relax.

"As you know, our latest victim was Kinshiro Morooka" Shirogane began. "I believe that he was a teacher at your school, correct?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Nise scoffed, sounding very suspicious and even a bit annoyed.

"The second victim was Sake Konishi, who also attended your school" Shirogane continued. "The media is way too focused on that right now- but it's irrelevant. There is something far more important to discuss..."

"Like what? Stop beatin' around the bush!" Hanamura snapped, a bit annoyed.

Shirogane stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "Your Mr. Morooka… was never on television before he died."

I flinched in surprise, wondering how she was aware of the television.

"Isn't that interesting…?" Shirogane asked, glancing over at me.

"...Not particularly" I replied, our eyes locking. We stared at each other for a moment before she looked away with a soft sigh.

"...Well alright then" Shirogane began, adjusting her hat. "Look, all I want to do is close this case as fast as I possibly can. Which means that I'll be keeping my eye on you."

Turning around, Shirogane calmly walked away, muttering "See ya" as she waved.

Once Shirogane was out of our sight, Nise let out a scoff and asked, "What was that all about?"

"Beats me. He's a weird, short, little man" Hanamura replied with a shrug. Knowing that he was calm again, I let go of his arm and walked to the front of the group.

"Well, let's go and get Kujikawa-san" I instructed. The other's nodded in agreement and, following my lead, we all walked inside the tofu shop.

"Excuse me..." I called out politely. Within a minute, Kujikawa's grandmother appeared from behind the blue curtain.

"Oh, it's you! I'm sorry, I never caught your name" Kujikawa's grandmother smiled. I nodded hello and walked forward as the others stayed near the entrance.

"Narukami. Hitomi Narukami, ma'am" I introduced, bowing.

"Hitomi… 'The beautiful gaze'. What a lovely name" Kujikawa's grandmother complimented.

"Thank you, ma'am" I thanked shyly, bowing. She chuckled sweetly as I stood back up, just in time to see Kujikawa enter the shop from behind the blue curtain like his grandmother.

"Oh, hey guys… Perfect timing, I'm on break now" Kujikawa greeted, dressed in the same outfit as when I had met him, aside from his black beanie and black sunglasses.

Nodding hello to him, Yukiko walked up next to me and said, "We want to talk to you about something..."

"Oh, right" Kujikawa blinked, before walking over to his grandmother. "Grandma, I'ma gonna go out for a while. I'll be back before my break is over."

"Alright. I'm not worried if Hitomi-chan is with you" Kujikawa's grandmother chuckled, looking over at me.

"Right..." Kujikawa chuckled weakly. After saying goodbye, Kujikawa lead us all to Tatsuhime Shrine in silence.

"Sorry for bringing you all the way out here…" Kujikawa apologized as he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't want my grandma to worry, and if she heard what we were talking about.. She just might."

"Are you feeling any better?" I asked, concerned for his health.

"I am. Thanks" Kujikawa replied with a small smile.

"So… Do you remember anything?" Yukiko asked shyly. Kujikawa looked up at the sky and blinked in thought.

"I don't… really remember" Kujkawa hummed.

"You don't, Kujikawa-san?" I asked, slightly disappointed.

"No… not everything, anyway. It's all kinda blurry..." Kujikawa began, looking back down at us. "I think… it was during closing time. I was reading while taking a break from cleaning up the shop when there was… I think a ring on the doorbell? Grandma was in the bath, so I went to open it… someone was there- shorter than me, I think- and… I think they punched me in the gut or something to make me keel over… after that, I don't… really know."

"Aw man, this blows..." Hanamura sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "So you have no idea at all who pushed you into the T.V?"

"Yeah… All I can remember after getting hit is waking up on the other side" Kujikawa replied.

"That's the same story for Kanji-kun and myself" Yukiko hummed. "Although, you do know a bit more than we do."

"Uh, well, like I said- it's all kinda blurry. So I might have just imagined it..." Kujikawa explained, a bit nervously.

"Um, listen..." Kujikawa began, looking nervous.

"Hm? What is it?" I asked.

"Thank you, for saving my life guys..." Kujikawa began. He then looked up and smiled a bright, genuine smile, cheering; "I'm happier than I've been in forever!"

I blinked twice in surprise caught off guard by the sudden change, shortly relaxing as a warm feeling washed over me.

"Haha, well yeah- of course!" Nise laughed, sounding surprised as well.

"Talk about an ideal smile! He's so cool!" Hanamura squealed. "Quick, Nise kick me! I gotta make sure I'm really talkin' to Ryouta here!"

"You sure 'bout that? You might not be able to walk for a while, because I'm planing for a critical hit to the nads…!" Nise smirked, sounding sinister. Hanamura whimpered, quickly shaking his head as sweat fell from his face. Kujikawa smiled and chuckled at the two.

"Heh! I know I sounded gloomy and all from the stress. But it's like a weight has been lifted and, well, since you all saved my life; I didn't want to make you guys dislike me" Kujikawa explained, looking a tad embarrassed. He then blinked and gasped. "Oh shoot! Er… Do I sound weird? Oh, wait! I-I guess this sounds a bit more 'natural' to the public..." Flustered, Kujikawa looked away and sighed, running a hand through his fair.

"I'm sorry… I've practically lost touch with what the _normal_ me is like..." Kujikawa chuckled sadly.

"It's fine- no need to apologize. Just do what comes naturally" I suggested, tilting my head slightly. Kujikawa blinked in surprise before smile.

"I think everyone has multiple sides to them. You don't have to force yourself to decide on just one" Yukiko added with a smile.

"Thanks..." Kujikawa thanked with a shy smile. "Heh- I'm glad that you're the first people I got to know here."

"Guess we'll be the three amigo's after all" I joked, catching Kujikawa's attention. Realizing what I was referring to, he let out a laugh.

"Sounds good to me!" he laughed, his cheeks turning pink. Once he stopped laughing, he looked at me with serious yet gentle eyes.

"So, what do you think? Do I add something to the group?" Kujikawa asked. "Can I help you all find this guy?"

"Sure" I replied simply with a nod, pulling out the glasses that Berry had given to me. I walked towards Kujikawa and handed them to him, saying, "I think you'd make a great addition to the team"

"Whoa, thanks!" Kujikawa exclaimed, taking the blue glasses from my hands- shortly putting them on. He looked rather nice with them on, the light blue color complimenting him nicely.

"This is proof that I'm one of you all now!" Kujikawa smiled. "They're great! They're just like the ones you guys wear!"

"Yep, you're officially part of the group" I said with a nod.

"Haha! I'm so glad we're all friends!" Kujikawa laughed, blushing.

"Dude, I'm friends with Ryouta!" Hanamura exclaimed, catching our attention. "Yes! Finally, my teen years don't totally suck!" Kujikawa and Yukiko laughed slightly at this as Nise sighed in slight annoyance. Hearing the sound of sticks breaking, I turned around and saw Kanji approaching us by himself.

"Yo. How's it going? You ain't gonna believe this..." Kanji began, sweat rolling down his jaw. "...But Berry ate _five_ Topsicles!"

"I-Is she alright?" I asked, blinking nervously.

"Yeah, she's fine. Though if you count the ones I had before, that makes six, so I still win" Kanji smirked, looking proud.

Thinking it was necessary, I applauded and said, "Congratulations."

"You know, no one asked, Kanji..." Hanamura sighed.

"We're all done talking already" Kujikawa commented, taking off his glasses and stuffing them into his pockets. He then looked at me and smiled brightly, hooking his arm with mine, causing me to squeak in surprise.

"Let's go, Hitomi!" Kujikawa cheered, causing my heart to skip a beat- a bit caught off guard by the sudden name calling. Practically everyone gasped in surprise by Kujikawa's name calling for me.

"Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoa!" Hanamura said as he grabbed my shoulder, separating me from Kujikawa. "Hold it right there! First off, Narukami-chan is your senpai- treat her like one. And second off, Narukami-chan is your _senpai_! You don't get to be on a first name basis after a few encounters, got it?!" I felt my heart skip a beat at Hanamura's words, blinking several times in surprise.

"Yeesh, I didn't know that you had such an uptight boyfriend" Kujikawa said in a surprised tone, causing my heart to skip another beat as my face heated up.

"Wha-?!" Hanamura gawked, letting go of my shoulder. I looked up at him in surprise, noticing his red face as he gritted his teeth. "I-I'm _not_ her boyfriend. But-"

"Then I don't see why you're being so bossy" Kujikawa interrupted, hooking arms with me again. There was a moment of intense silence as everyone watched the little scene happening before them.

"...Pft! It's a joke! Lighten up, will you?" Kujikawa laughed, swatting his hand to show that he really was just joking around. I let out a soft sigh, cooling down my face and relaxing my heart.

"Uh… When did you get so chipper?" Kanji asked, catching our attention.

"A while ago" Kujikawa said with a smile. "Oh, do you go to Yasogami, like Hitomi-senpai? I'll be starting school there tomorrow, so I hope we get along too."

"Huh? Oh… cool" Kanji muttered, blinking nervously. "Uhh… What grade are you in?"

"I'm a first year- of high school. Don't want you thinking that I'm going to a middle school now" Kujikawa teased. Yukiko struggled to hold in a laugh as Kanji glared a little at Kujikawa.

"Can it, smart ass" Kanji growled. Kujikawa laughed, showing that he meant no harm.

"Right, well… Kanji, where's Berry?" Hanamura suddenly asked, changing the subject.

"She's over there, finishing up her fifth Topsicle" Kanji explained as he jerked his thumb behind him to the stairs leading up here. "What are we gonna do with her?"

"Well..." Hanamura sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Augh, what a pain. I guess I'll take her home..." I blinked in surprise at this, something hurting me as I stared in admiration at Hanamura's kindness.

"Oh, really? A guy and a girl living under the same roof. How can we be sure that you guys will behave?" Nise asked, tying his hands behind his head.

"Because my old man and mom would skin me alive twice if something even suggested _that_. Besides, out of everyone here, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one rocking a four bedroom place. It'll be fine" Hanamura explained, sighing.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Hanamura" I apologized, catching his attention. He looked at me for a moment with a normal look, before looking away- his expression in pain. I blinked in surprise at this, my heart wincing.

"Don't worry about it" Hanamura sighed. "Let's call it a day… Sadly though, mine won't be over for a while." Everyone nodded and decided to head their own way. With the pain in my heart, I decided to call it a day as well. Besides, I had some cooking to do with Nanako...

* * *

 _Evening…_

I sat down across from Nanako in my usual spot as I quietly ate my trout that I had bought earlier today with Nanako while the television played. The meal was that of a simple one, my mind continuously wandering towards Hanamura's pained expression. Did I do something to hurt him…? I let out a soft sigh, the pain from earlier stabbing me once again. I don't want to see such an expression on Hanamura again… Hopefully, he'll be back to his usual self tomorrow.

"Good evening, this is Niteline News. Our top story for the night concerns the latest developments in an ongoing story… " a nazly voice began, catching my attention. I looked over to the television and saw a picture of Morooka on screen, causing me to flinch. So… He really has been murdered.

"The serial murder case in Inaba has claimed a third victim. The news shocked local residents, who had not seen another murder in three months, and assumed the spree had reached its end. The deceased taught at a local high school. Since his body was found arranged in a similar manner as the last two victims…" the nazly male announcer continued. Not wanting to pay attention to it anymore, I looked back down at my food and continued to eat.

"What's wrong? Was it someone you know?" I heard Nanako asked. I looked up and saw her eyes focused on me, having taken notice of my earlier actions.

Swallowing the food in my mouth, I looked down and said, "Yes… That was my homeroom teacher. But, he…"

"...He died?" Nanako finished for me. I flinched by her words and looked back up at her, noticing that she was looking rather scared, her chopsticks trembling slightly in her hand.

"Hey, now… I'm here with you" I comforted. Nanako looked back up at me and smiled a little, seeming to have calmed down a little.

"I'm all right…" Nanako reassured softly, seeming somewhat relieved. I felt the corner of my lips twitch, a warm feeling washing over me.

"...This marks the second consecutive death, after Ms. Saki Konishi's, where the target was involved with Yasogami High" the announcer continued once again, catching our attention. "Mr. Morooka was known for his strict teaching methods, and is said to have had constant friction with his students. The police will be pursuing this line of inquiry, and are planning to begin a large-scale investigation tomorrow. We now turn to our reporter at the scene for more details…" I let out a soft sigh as I grabbed the remote and switched the channel to a more child-friendly show. The news seems livelier than usual this evening...

"Dad won't be coming home again today…" Nanako sighed, catching my attention. She looked rather sad about missing another night and early morning with her father once again. Feeling my own pain of sadness pinching me at the sight of Nanako, I decided to do another magic trick. I placed my chopsticks down on the table respectfully and wiggled my left fingers while I held my left forearm with my right hand. This caught Nanako's attention, her eyes focused on me. Without her noticing, I bet my left thumb down 90 degrees before replacing it with my right thumb, covering it with my pointer and index finger. Nanako stared intently at me as I made no moment, increasing tension. Once the moment was right, I moved my right hand away from my left hand, making it appear to Nanako that I had just moved my thumb to my right hand from my left.

"Huh? Do it again, do it again!" Nanako begged, blinking rapidly in awe and interest. Nodding, I did the same thing, and once it was right- I moved my thumb from my left hand to my right.

Nanako gasped and leaned forward towards me, cheering, "It moved! Hey, how did you do that? Tell me, tell me!"

"A magician never tells her secret, don't you know?" I teased, causing Nanako to giggle.

* * *

3rd POV

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, a familiar area coming to her vision. Hitomi sat across from a man with an unusual long nose and a woman with platinum-blonde hair.

"Welcome..." the man with the long nose, known as Igor, greeted. He was the one responsible for calling Hitomi here- the Velvet Room.

"Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world...I have summoned you within your dreams" Igor explained, raising a hand. "How are things proceeding...? Are you gradually drawing nearer to a solution to the mystery...?"

Hitomi let out a sigh and shook her head, saying "I honestly don't know."

Igor chuckled, saying, "Indeed. The fog clouding your path is thick…"

The platinum-blonde haired woman next to him, known as Margaret, looked up; a serious expression on her face.

"The season has changed, but your future is not yet closed. In time, a path will open to you" Margaret said. Hitomi nodded, understanding.

"Now… your journey will soon reach its climax… And as a result, many challenges-which I cannot foresee at present- await you. Most interesting…" Igor hummed before chuckling. "Well, until we meet again… Farewell." Hitomi nodded farewell and slowly closed her eyes as the world around her began to turn dark.

* * *

 _Monday, July 11th_ | _Early morning..._

Dark gray clouds loomed over the town of Inaba this morning as the young generations walked, tired, towards their school. Hitomi was walking by herself as usual, staring up at the sky.

 _The clouds represent how I feel right now_ , Hitomi thought to herself as she sighed, looking forward. She was nervous for today, after seeing the pained expression on Yosuke's face yesterday and having heard of the death of Morooka. What if Yosuke was still upset at her? What if the other students talk badly of Morooka? Hitomi let out a long sigh, not excited in the very least to head to school.

"Yo, Narukami-chan!" a familiar voice called out to Hitomi. Hitomi flinched and shyly looked over her shoulder, afraid to see the expression the person who called out to her was wearing. Hitomi had heard the voice so often- she knew right away that it was Yosuke- which only made her worried. But much to Hitomi's surprise, Yosuke had his usual smile and cheerful air around him like always as he caught up to her and began to walk by her side.

"Oh, good morning..." Hitomi greeted, her heart skipping a beat- glad that her best friend and important person was back to his old self. But that didn't take away all of Hitomi's troubles, as she let out a soft sigh, looking forward again.

"Hey, what's wrong? Didn't get enough sleep again?" Yosuke asked, worried about Hitomi's health. She simply shook her head in reply. Yosuke raised an eyebrow in confusion, wondering what could be wrong… When an idea came into his head.

"Oh, I get it… It's about King Moron, isn't it?" Yosuke asked, a bit more gently than he normally would have. Hitomi flinched and looked up at Yosuke before looking forward again, shyly.

Yosuke still remember how Hitomi reacted when those two girls bad mouthed Saki… Hitomi upright said that they had "rude manners" for talking badly about the dead. Recalling that time made Yosuke's heart squeeze for some reason in a painful way, causing his eyes to narrow in pain. But the pain quickly vanished when Yosuke thought about how kind and sweet Hitomi was for thinking like that… She was almost like an angel to him- an unreal and beautiful creature. And when she leaves by the end of spring… She'll fly back up to heaven. A sudden sharp pain pierced Yosuke's heart, painful enough to make his vision blur with tears. He quickly blinked them away, forcing himself to snap out of his thoughts and focus on Hitomi.

"...It's a bit hard for me to believe it. Our homeroom teacher… killed" Hitomi admitted, sounding a bit shy.

"Will you be alright?" Yosuke asked, concerned.

"Yeah… I'll be fine. I just hope I don't hear many people talk badly about him" Hitomi replied with a nod, her tone sad. "It hurts me when I hear someone speaking badly of the dead..." Yosuke felt himself unconsciously blush at the cuteness Hitomi was unpurposefully expressing, causing him to wrap his arm around her neck and ruffle her hair.

"Well maybe that's because you're too sugary sweet for your own good! Like a strawberry shortcake, haha!" Yosuke laughed, recalling the cake Hitomi had baked for her. The two unconsciously blushed, recalling the night of Yosuke's birthday.

Struggling for the two to walk in such a position, Yosuke let go of Hitomi and stuffed his hands into his pockets, saying, "...In all seriousness, if we start getting depressed over something like this, we'll never catch the killer. Besides, we'll be getting a new homeroom teacher."

"I wonder who it'll be?" Hitomi thought out loud with a hum.  
"Hopefully not someone worse than King Moron" Yosuke laughed nervously, a drop of sweat rolling down his jaw.

* * *

 _Morning…_

Hitomi was sitting at her desk next to Nise, Yukiko, and Yosuke as always- listening intently to the conversations buzzing in the classroom.

"Is that story about King Moron real…?" a female student asked, catching Hitomi's attention.

"Apparently it is. It was on T.V…!" another confirmed.

"More importantly, is it true that Ryouta is transferring to our school?!" two girls asked at the same time. Hitomi let out a relieved sigh, glad that no one plans on talking badly about the late Morooka. Hitomi didn't mind if no one talked about him- as long as no one said anything bad, she was all right with it.

Suddenly, the doors to the classroom opened- causing the class to fall silent as students who were standing rushed to their seats. Hitomi sat up straight to make a good first impression and watched the teacher walk inside the classroom towards the teacher's desk. The new teacher was a woman with shoulder-length, light brown hair and flashing brown eyes that bounced playfully among each of her students. Hitomi found her new teacher to be a bit of an attractive woman… if it weren't for the teacher's slightly unbuttoned, lavender collared shirt with a rather tight dark purple skirt.

"Well now, good morning..." the teacher began in her sultry voice, stopping right next to the teacher's desk. As if on purpose, the teacher crossed her arms below her rather large breast, causing them to bounce. This caused the class to stifle a gasp, rather uncomfortable and agitated by the woman's suggestive clothing.

"As of today, _I_ will be your new homeroom teacher. I'm Noriko Kashiwagi, and I'll be taking the place of the late Mr. Morooka. Nice to meet you~" the teacher introduced with a wink. "I don't mean to _dive_ right in, but I should remind you that the finals are next week. But be careful, don't let my _bewitching_ presence distract your from your studies~!"

"I already can't stand her..." a female student muttered softly, earning a few grunts in replies.

"First King Moron and now Kashiwagi...? How much worse can it get?" a male student groaned, softly.

"King Moron to Kashiwagi…! It's scholastic whiplash…!" Yosuke whimpered, lowering his head to hide himself from her view using Hitomi as a shield.

"She is will in doubt..." Hitomi commented softly.

* * *

 _After school..._

Hitomi's POV

Once school was over for the day, I instructed Hanamura to message Kanji and Kujikawa so that everyone could gather at the secret headquarters in Junes for us to talk. I didn't give him the specifics, wanting to make sure that everyone arrived.

"Okay, so I messaged the others to go and head towards the secret headquarters if. I specifically told Ryo where it was too, so it'll turn out" Hanamura said as he stuffed his iPhone into his pocket, with a smile. Hanamura, Nise, Yukiko and myself were walking on ahead to the secret headquarters- since the four of us have the scame class.

"Thanks" I said with a nod, looking forward again. I suddenly stopped walking as I blinked in surprise, recognizing a familiar unkempt blacked haired boy wearing a yellow shirt.

"Yukiko..." the guy muttered, approaching us.

"That guy… He's the one who almost hurt Nanako…!" I whispered to Hanamura, having already informed him about my encounter via text last night before falling asleep. Hanamura flinched at my information and walked in front of me, as if protecting me from the boy.

"You again…! You got a lotta balls coming back here!" Nise growled, seeming to have remembered him.

"Come on… Come with me, Yukiko" the boy mused, ignoring Nise's rather threatening growl. "Come to my world!" The boy then reached out and grabbed Yukiko's arm, causing her to squeak in surprise and fear.

"Yo, back off _creep_!" Nise snapped as he pried the boy off of Yukiko.

"You back off! This isn't about you!" the boy snapped back with a glare, causing Nise and myself to flinch. He looked back over to Yukiko with a rather pleading look and extended his hand.

"Yukiko… You're gonna come with me… Right?" the boy asked, a sad and yearning tone in his voice.

"Just who exactly… are you?" Yukiko asked, nervously. I blinked in surprise and looked over at her, noticing that Nise was looking at her just as nervous. "Have we… met before?"

"Sheesh, you totally wiped this freak from your memory" Nise commented, a drop of sweat rolling down his jaw. I looked back over at the boy, noticing the anger, shock, and humiliation growing in his eyes.

"Are you messing with me?! Huh?! How dare you!" the boy barked. A knot began to grow in my stomach as I felt sweat roll down my face. Stepping to the side from Hanamura, I took a few steps forward, catching the boy's attention.

"Let's just all calm down…" I muttered, another drop of sweat rolling down my face.

"Shut up! You're not a part of this either, you stupid bitch!" the boy barked, causing me to flinch. I suddenly felt my left shoulder grabbed from behind me, pulling me back. Looking up, I saw a rather angry Kanji with his teeth gritting- his other hand holding his school bag over his shoulder.

"Who the _hell_ are you?" Kanji growled as he let go of my shoulder and walked towards the boy. "Who made you high and mighty to talk that way to Narukami-senpai...?!" The boy took a few steps back, sweating nervously in fear.

After a moment, the boy gritted his feet and turned around, yelling; "You moron! You'll regret this!" as he ran away. There was a moment of silence as we stared off in the distance that the boy ran in.

"What's his problem, yo?" Kanji asked, breaking the silence as he looked over at us. Nise and Hanamura shook their heads, unsure of what had even happened. Looking around, I noticed that we had created a scene, several other students staring at us in possible concern, surprise, and confusion. Embarrassed, I quickly walked behind the others and began to gently push them forward, causing them to walk towards our destination.

* * *

"So, why did you want us all to come here?" Hanamura asked once everyone, including Kujikawa who joined us halfway to Junes, sat down at our secret headquarters table. Hanamura sat across from me, Nise next to him, and Kanji next to him. Yukiko sat besides me with Kujikawa at the end. I folded my hands in front of my mouth and closed my eyes, inhaling through my nose.

"I know that solving this case is important..." I began slowly, growing tension. I then pulled out a piece of paper and mechanical pencil, continuing, "...But we still have school and with finals coming up, we should form a schedule that won't interfere with our studying _or_ finding the killer. It will be the end of the semester too, so our grades will be important." The other's, besides from Yukiko who giggled, flinched- causing Nise and Hanamura to smack their faces on the table.

"Augh, seriously? Bleagh!" Nise complained, sticking out his tongue as he and Hanamura sat back up. I scratched my right cheek before placing my paper and mechanical pencil down on the table.

"Well… It's been a while since I failed any subjects" Nise sighed in defeat, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, if by 'a while' you mean 'all the time'" Hanamura remarked, causing Nise to flinch.

"Sh-Shut up! Like you've ever seen my scores!" Nise stammered, looking embarrassed.

"But Nise always has above-average marks in the subjects that he doesn't fail!" Yukiko pointed out. I felt a drop of sweat roll down my cheek, wondering how Nise will continue to the next school year and not be held back.

"H-Hey, you! Why'd you tell him?!" Nise stammered, slamming a hand to the table. He then looked around the table and stuttered, "Look, my scores just... Vary! Yeah, that's it!" Kujikawa began to chuckle, trying hard to stifle it.

"Aw come on, seriously? You too, Ryo?" Nise whined, covering his face with his hands.

"Sorry, sorry… I'm not laughing at you" Kujikawa began, waving at Nise. "It's just… I thought it would take me a while to make _any_ friends at my new school."

"Too bad we met under such awful circumstances" Nise sighed, seeming to have recovered. Kujikawa nodded and leaned forward, looking over at me with a cheeky smile.

"At least they weren't as bad as when I first met Hitomi-senpai, haha!" Kujikawa laughed.

"Again, sorry about all that..." I muttered, shyly. Kujikawa chuckled before looking over to the others.

"But, as I was saying, just on the first day I'm here hanging out after school with all of you!" Kujikawa continued. "It's… refreshing, honestly." I felt a warm feeling wash over me at Kujikawa's words as the corner of my lips twitched.

"Glad that we make you feel that way" I commented. I picked up my mechanical pencil and pointed the erase at the other's. "Now, with that out of the way… Let's talk finals." The guys groaned in unison, Hanamura and Nise smacking their faces to the table again.

* * *

After two hours and many off topic discussions, we all finally decided that… We should just wing it. The guys couldn't really concentrate and planned on just studying during the weekend. I was a bit hard on Nise since he didn't have to work or help out his family's shop, but Yukiko came to his rescue by saying that she would study with him for a bit.

"You really don't have to walk me to my temporary residence, Kujikawa-san" I said as Kujikawa and I walked towards the Dojima residence. Kujikawa insisted on walking me there and wouldn't take no for an answer. Hanamura and Nise seemed a bit upset by it, but I just couldn't turn him down. He is surprisingly persistent.

"Ryo or Ryouta's fine. And it's no big deal- your place is on the way over, anyways" Kujikawa reassured with a smile.

"Actually, your place is on the way to _my_ destination… Ryo-kun" I replied, shyly muttering his first name.

"Haha… Looks like I've been caught" Ryo chuckled softly. "In all honesty, I wanted to walk with you alone because I wanted to thank you once again… Not only for saving my life, but for giving me five new friends- including yourself- within a few short days. It's the best thing, I think… anyone has ever given to me."

I blinked in surprise at the tone of gratitude in Ryo's voice before nodding and saying, "It's no problem. That's what a senpai is supposed to do, right?"

"Ah, right…! Gee, I keep forgetting that you're older than me" Ryo laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know what it is, but you seem younger than you actually are."

"You seem to not be the only one… Kanji-kun thought the same thing to once we got him out of the television and he was back in school" I commented. Ryo laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, from what I can tell so far, Kanji's a bit-" Ryo began.

"Ryouta!" two high-pitched voices suddenly called out, interrupting Ryo. Ryo and I turned around and saw two girls run towards Ryo, accidentally pushing me away from him.

"Hey, hey! I thought you said that you'd hang out with us! We waited forever for you at the school's entrance! It's not so nice to ditch a couple of girls like that, you know?" one of the girls with a heart shaped hair clip huffed, playfully.

"Er, sorry… Something suddenly came up, so I had to hang out with my friends" Ryo apologized nervously, looking a bit guilty.

"Well, now that you're alone, let's go and hang out! You told us that you'd tell us what kind of girl you liked, remember~?" the other girl wearing a white headband cooed, blushing a bit. I blinked nervously at her words, thinking it was a tad rude to have not only pushed me away from Ryo but also to not see me.

"What kind of girl...?" Ryo hummed, sounding a bit nervous. He then turned around and looked at me with wide eyes. After a moment, he suddenly smiled brightly and walked over towards me. I blinked in surprise, feeling my heart skip a beat for some reason at his smile.

"That's this girl right here!" Ryo cheered as he grabbed me by the shoulder's, moving me in front of him as if showing me off to the two girls. My heart skipped another beat as I blinked rapidly.

"H-Huh?" I squeaked. The other girls looked at me in surprise, looking a tad surprised and a bit disappointed.

"Hitomi Narukami- who is a friend and senpai! She is one of the best girls in the whole world. A true one of a kind and a special person to me! I think I'm even tempted to calling her my favorite person!" Ryo said with a smile and a chuckle.

"Aw, that's no fair and yet totally sweet!" the girl with the white headband said with a small smile.

"Narukami? Oh, the transfer student in class 2-2, right?" the heart hair-pin girl asked. I nodded, confirming it. "Oh, i've been hearing lots of things about you! You really seem to like helping people out, huh?"

I blinked at the girl's question, feeling slightly shy, and explained, "Um, well… I only have this year to be in Inaba, and I want to do what I can to help it."

"Really?! I think that's really pretty cool of you! You don't see a lot of people like that now-a-days; the generous types, y'know?" the heart hair-pined girl pointed out, smiling warmly as if in approval.

"Aw, it's no wonder that Ryouta likes you! I'm jealous!" the white headband girl giggled with a sad smile plastered on her face.

"Aw, come on. There's no need for the green monster to be a part of you…!" Ryo chuckled nervously as he waved his right hand at the girls while still holding onto me with his left.

"Then how about joining us for a bite at Aiya's? It's pretty good!" the white headband girl suggested, blushing a bit as she stood up on her tiptoes. The heart hair-pin girl gently slapped the white headband girl on her arm.

"Hey, come on- can't you take a hint? He's walking Narukami home!" the heart hair-pin girl huffed, sounding disappointed at her friend.

"Oh, don't worry about me, my destination isn't that far now" I reassured, catching the girl's attention. I felt Ryo's hand on my shoulder tense up for a moment, seeming surprised. Gently removing his hand, I took a step away from the group and looked at Ryo who looked sadly disappointed.

"Ryo-kun, go with these girls. Aiya's has some nice meat there- enjoy it" I insisted. Ryo blinked in surprise before pouting slightly. I blinked in surprise at this, finding it strange for him to be so upset. Sure, it was slightly rude, but I didn't want to be the one responsible for disappointing his fans.

After a moment, Ryo sighed and smiled at the girls, saying, "Well, if there's meat involved, I can't say no now can I?"

"Wowie! So nice! Thanks, Narukami!" the girls said at the same time, squealing at Ryo's smile. I nodded in reply as the girls began to pull Ryo over in the direction to Aiya's.

Looking over his shoulder, Ryo smiled and called out, "See ya tomorrow, Senpai!"

"Have fun!" I called out at the trio. Once they were out of my sight, I turned around and began to walk to the Dojima residence.

* * *

 _Tuesday, July 12th_ | _Early morning..._

I stared up at the raindrops falling and sliding down transparent umbrella, finding the melodies of the rain rather… _Frightening_ today. It was just like the two nights prior to Morooka's death… There was something strange in the sound of the rain those nights as well. I let out a sigh as I shivered, worried about how the end results of today will turn out. Hopefully nothing will happen. Hopefully it was just me reading too much into the weather.

"Hey, good morning, Hi-chan!" I heard a familiar voice call out. Blinking in surprise, I stopped and turned around- noticing a red umbrella rushing towards me. The owner, of course, was none other than Yukiko.

"Oh, good morning" I greeted with a nod once she had caught up with me, the two of us beginning to walk towards the school again. "Unusual for you to be out here at this time. Aren't you usually at the school?" I asked recalling the many times Yukiko had beaten the other's and I- already sitting at her desk by the time we walk in the classroom.

"Yes- I'm in charge of updating the school boards in the morning and afternoon. But, well… Nise was worried that guy from yesterday would be back, so he told me that he was going to do it for me and that I should take my time" Yukiko explained, an unusual relaxed smile and pink cheeks accompanying her.

"I see. Very considerate of him" I commented.

"Yeah. That guy was super scary..." Yukiko whispered, presumably not wanting anyone else to know.

"He really was" I agreed with a nod as I looked forward. "I'm glad that Kanji interfered when he did."

"Mm-hmm..." Yukiko agreed. "You know, on the way home yesterday, Nise started crying."

"What, really?" I asked in slight surprise, looking over to Yukiko.

"Yeah. He said that for a minute, that guy looked almost like he would pull out a weapon and Nise started getting scared" Yukiko began, sounding a bit… entranced with each word that spilled from her lips. "He was also crying because he was _really_ glad that Kanji came around."

"Hm… That seems like something Nise would cry about. A while ago, he cried at the sight of corn turned into knives" I commented, looking forward again as I recalled the astonished tears that formed in his eyes. Of course, they were just simple baby tears that vanished after wiping them away- I almost didn't noticed he had cried.

"Oh… So he's cried personally in front of you..." Yukiko grumbled, catching my attention. Looking over at her she seemed rather… Upset or worried at the fact I had seen Nise cried.

Blinking in surprise, I asked, "Is something wrong with that?"

"N-No, not really!" Yukiko quickly replied, looking conflicted and apologetic. Blinking in confusion, I looked forward; unconsciously creating an awkward silence between Yukiko and I.

"Um… Hi-chan, can I ask you a question?" Yukiko asked after three minutes of silence.

"Yes?" I mused, without looking over at her.

There was a short pause of silence before she shyly asked, "...How do you feel about Nise?"

"How do I feel?" I repeated, blinking twice. I hummed in thought for a moment, tilting my head. "Um… good? He's a really good guy. Even though he tends to cry over a lot of things, he's really brave and cool. He's also really funny and cheerful. I like that about him."

"L-Like?!" Yukiko squeaked, causing me to jump in surprise and look at her. She seemed rather flushed in the face, blinking rapidly.

"Y-Yeah…! Like" I repeated, nervously.

"A-As in… _Like_ like?" Yukiko asked, her face becoming redder, leaning in.

"Is there a difference?" I asked, confused as to what she was insisting. Yukiko blinked in surprise, the red color draining from her face as if she was broken free from a spell.

"O-Oh, so that's what you mean… Nevermind, then" Yukiko sighed, looking rather relieved. I blinked in confusion as to what had just happened before mentally shrugging and looked forward once again.

"...Hi-chan, I think I'm starting to like Nise" Yukiko muttered, shyly.

"Huh?" I hummed, looking over to her. Noticing the shy look on her face, I blinked in realization and gasped softly. "You mean romantically?!"

"Shhh! Not so loud!" Yukiko shushed, putting a finger in front of her lips as her face became redder, sweat rolling down her jaw. "...But yes, that's what I mean."

I felt a warm sensation wash over me as the corner of my lips twitched. But it suddenly vanished when I recalled Yukiko's words from a few days ago.

"Wait, I thought you said you would never see him like that" I pointed out.

"I did say that, but… After all the things that's been happening, I think my eyes have opened and…" Yukiko began, looking forward sheepishly. "...I might have liked him for a really long time." The warm feeling returned to me as I blinked.

"Congratulations on recognizing your feelings, Yukiko-chan! I wish you two the best" I cheered quietly, putting my hand to her shoulder- which felt a bit awkward since she was four inches taller than me at around 5'5.

"Th-Thank you..." Yukiko giggled, looking very embarrassed but happy. That expression quickly gave way though, turning into one of sadness as she looked down. "Although, I think he might be..."

"...He might be what?" I asked, a bit concerned. Yukiko looked at me with pained eyes, her expression seeming to wail "If only I was wrong". I blinked in surprise, my hand suddenly losing strength and dropping down to my side.

After a minute, Yukiko shook her head and smiled, looking better. "...Nothing. I'm probably seeing it wrong." Blinking in surprise by the mood changed, I looked forward in confusion. Why did Yukiko look at me with such an expression…? Had I done something wrong...?

My train of thought was suddenly cut off when a guy zoomed by Yukiko and myself, panting "I'm gonna be late!" I blinked in surprise after him, noticing that the boy was the same one who had the tendency to run to school the same way every other day. Suddenly, I felt something sharp scratch my right cheek, causing me to flinch. Shortly afterwards, I felt something hit my right eye, causing me to unconsciously squeak out in pain.

"Huh? A-Are you alright?" Yukiko asked, stopping next to me. I placed a hand to my right eye, blinking rapidly to try and ease the stinging. Yukiko blinked in concern as she reached out and grabbed something on my right shoulder.

"Wha- a pebble?" Yukiko stammered, holding up three little pebbles with rather sharp looking edges.

"I guess that boy running just now kicked some at me on accident" I hummed, dropping my hand to the side, no longer feeling pain or irritation. Yukiko huffed as she tossed the pebbles to the side, the two of us continuing our way to school.

* * *

 _Morning..._

"Remember guys, the finals are starting next week. If you fail, you'll have to attend our lovely summer school" Kashiwagi began starting the class. "Anyway, today, we're talking about sex linkage. Sex linkage inheritance is dependent on allosomes." Half of the class shifted in a rather uncomfortable manner, seeming a bit uneasy to hear the word "sex" coming out from Kashiwagi's mouth. Not that I could blame them… Kashiwagi's appearance is sadly suggestive to some inappropriate activities. Although, I'm sure she's a nice woman.

"To say it simply, it's genetic inheritance that's caused by whatever decides if you're male or female" Kashiwagi continued. "An example is calico cats. Calico cats are almost _entirely_ female. Not that there aren't any boys, but apparently there's only one out of several tens of thousands." I blinked in surprise at the new information given, causing me to pick up my mechanical pencil and jot down some notes. Secretly, I am a big fan of the feline species. My family had never owned a cat since they were allergic and feared that I was as well- but that didn't stop me from becoming friends with all the stray cats in the neighborhood.

"Maybe these rare calicos are very popular with the ladies?" Kashiwagi giggled, earning a few uncomfortable groans of discomfort from the male students. Some of the female students also groaned- but more in annoyance than discomfort.

* * *

3rd POV

Once the school day had come to an end, Yosuke let out a long sigh of relief. The days leading up to exams were always the most tedious- not only with the stress in the air but with the unending amount of work each class would give. For some reason, they thought it would be wise to shove more and more information down a student's throat before exam week instead of reviewing the material that would be covered. Many students, like Yosuke and Nise, found the process exhausting.

"Aw, crap..." Yosuke muttered, watching some of his classmates wiping down the math equations Nakayama had written down earlier. Yosuke sighed, unsure as to what to do now when suddenly- Hitomi stood up, ready to leave for the day; her skirt fluttering as she did so. Yosuke blushed and immediately sat up straight, clearing his throat softly. Sometimes when Hitomi is in a rush, she would stand up quickly, causing her skirt to flutter. If Yosuke rested his head on his desk, there was a _slight_ possibility of him catching a glimpse of her underwear…

"Hey, Narukami-chan?" Yosuke said, grabbing his bag as he stood up. Hitomi blinked and turned around, looking up at Yosuke in a way that seemed as if she was giving him permission to speak. "Sorry about this, but I didn't get a chance to write down the last two equations- can you help me out?"

Hitomi blinked a few times in surprise, and tilted her head, asking, "You mean like study together?"

"Yeah, more or less" Yosuke replied with a nod.

Hitomi blinked and nodded, saying, "Alright, sure." This brought a smile to Yosuke's face, glad for some reason that Hitomi didn't even take a minute to think about accepting his proposal.

"Cool! Let's head for the library. And while we're there, we can review some stuff for the exams" Yosuke cheered with a bright smile. Hitomi blinked in surprise at Yosuke's.

"Look at you, taking my studying plan seriously" Hitomi commented, giving him a thumbs up. Yosuke blinked before winking with a silly smile.

"Hey, if I get to copy your notes why not get some private lessons, y'know? Take advantage of my time with you!" Yosuke replied. However, poor Yosuke wasn't aware of how loud he was nor how bad his words sounded to those who heard it without context.

Some of the girls in the class looked disgusted at the oblivious Yosuke while few smiled- thinking that Yosuke and Hitomi looked cute together and seemed to have a good chemistry together. Some of the guys laughed while others just smiled while raising an eyebrow- all of them thinking that Yosuke was _waaaaaay_ out of his league this time by going after Hitomi. It wasn't exactly a public thing, but Hitomi had managed to capture several hearts of the second year male students. She didn't have a big fan base like Yukiko or Kou, but she definitely had some. If only Hitomi had learned how to smile, or change her facial expression in general, she would have captured almost every man's heart in the school. After all, it wasn't exactly a secret that Hitomi was beautiful.

Nise, who was standing next to Hitomi and Yosuke, glared as he looked at Yosuke. "Dude- you talk way too loud." Yosuke and Hitomi blinked in surprise at Nise's words, causing Yosuke to turn around and notice the several students looking at them.

A trio of boys sitting on their desks nearby all smiled and laughed, one of them saying, "Good to hear you're after the girls that are outta your league as always, Yosuke!" Yosuke blushed at their words, raising an eyebrow as he blinked twice.

"Hey, shut up you guys! You're getting the wrong idea!" Yosuke laughed weakly, as Nise taped Hitomi on the shoulder, the two of them going into a conversation.

"You know, they don't look half bad together" another boy of the trio commented.

"Wha?" Yosuke gasped, his face becoming red. Noticing the redness to his face, the three boys 'ooh'ed and began to laugh.

"Yosuke and Hitomi sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" the trio sang, mockingly. Yosuke gritted his teeth as his face became redder, marching his way over to them.

"Now you guys are just being idiots! What are you, five? Knock it off already!" Yosuke growled, shortly laughing at the trio's stupidity. The other boys laughed along with Yosuke, shortly bidding him farewell when Yosuke noticed that Hitomi was ready to leave.

Walking towards the library, Yosuke still smiling at the trio's idiocy, Hitomi blinked in surprise as she noticed someone standing in front of the fire alarm button.

Hitomi blinked, recognizing it to be Ryo. "Hm?"

"Hey, it's Ryo!" Yosuke exclaimed, noticing him. The two walked over to Ryo as he stared intently at the red button, a look of resistance and temptation on his face.

"I wanna push it… It's so tempting… But I can't; I'm an idol…!" Ryo muttered to himself, trying hard not to push the button.

"Pushing it would be very bad, indeed" Hitomi commented, having heard what Ryo muttered.

"Don't be a kid, now" Yosuke added.

Ryo yelped in surprise, looking over at his two senpai's with a blushed face. "A-Ah, Hitomi-senpai and Yosuke-senpai too?! Y-Y-You guys weren't listening, were you?"

"We heard you" Hitomi replied, bluntly. Ryo flinched, his face becoming red with embarrassment.

"Aw, man..." Ryo sighed. "Well, uh… Be nice to me, okay? I just transferred here, and it's time for exams already, haha!" Hitomi nodded, having already planned to be nice to her kohai. Hitomi was the type of girl who treated almost everyone equally: good people or bad, younger or people of her own age. Of course, adults or those older than her were treated with much more respect than she would of any normal person.

"Oh, you know, that makes me wonder… Just what kind of student are you, Ryo? You're the one that studies lots, right? So the ladies would swoon over you with your good grades?" Yosuke asked, a grin stretching his lips. Talking with Ryo in the flesh was a dream come true… Ryo was the type of person Yosuke had always dreamed of being. The type who would walk into a room and nearly capture everyone girl's heart. It wasn't for anything stupid like to just have girls fall all over him, but just to always have someone to talk to. Yosuke had considered himself as one with good looks- so why waste it?

Ryo laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, saying, "Hate to say it, but I actually can't focus all that well when I'm studying. So, I actually rarely do it..." Hitomi blinked in surprise, a little disappointed that Ryo was a bad student to some degree. She had hope that he would be the one out of the guys in the group to actually have a good studying habit.

"Whoa, no way! I have the same problem!" Yosuke exclaimed, pointing to himself happily. "I'm becoming closer and closer to being a ladies man!" Hitomi and Ryo felt a bead of sweat roll down their jaws as Yosuke entered a dream-like state, his body practically glowing as his eyes sparkled in an almost cartoonish way.

"Careful Hitomi-senpai… If Yosuke-senpai really does become a ladies man, he'll start bringing you trouble" Ryo commented, looking over to Hitomi. Hitomi blinked and shook her head in reply.

"I'm sure I'll be fine" she reassured, looking back over to Yosuke. "I've managed to handle this much of him, anyways." Ryo blinked in surprise before laughing.

"Hahah! Well, if he ever starts becoming a bother, just look for me and I'll help you out" Ryo laughed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Hitomi nodded in reply, the corner of her lips twitching slightly. Ryo smiled and looked up ahead, the color of his face suddenly paling.

"Uh-oh… I see some fan-girls..." Ryo muttered, sounding scared, causing Yosuke to snap out of whatever state he was in.

Ryo turned around and began to walk away as he said, "See ya, guys. I better move it before I get surrounded again." Yosuke and Hitomi blinked as they watched Ryo walk down the stairs at the end of the hallway.

"So even Ryo has girl problems, huh?" Yosuke mused, looking over his shoulder to where Ryo looked. But to his surprise, there wasn't any lovelorn fangirl nearby. Yosuke blinked in confusion as he raised an eyebrow, tilting his head.

 _There aren't any fangirls around, but… Something seems off…_ Yosuke thought to himself as he noticed a rather strange atmosphere in the air directed towards him and Hitomi. Yosuke hummed in thought before shrugging it off, thinking it was a part of his imagination.

* * *

A good two hours had passed, rain still pouring down from the sky, as Hitomi and Yosuke walked down the stairs leading to the entrance of the school. Yosuke had managed to actually get some work done and not only start to understand the math problems they had been doing in class, but even proficiently managed to review and _understand_ the materials that might be on the exams! It was a miracle, truly. Although, it embarasses Yosuke to think too much on their studying time together since he had made the most childish mistake of all… Not using the formula's he had memorized. Yosuke had managed to memorise several formulas for math, but he actually hasn't been _using_ them in the math equations. Hitomi noticed this and told Yosuke that he had to start actually using the formals, a certain sound in her voice that made it almost seem like she was struggling not to laugh. It was cute but at the same time embarrassing for Yosuke.

"Look, I'm just saying! With so many formulas, they should have a formula sheet with like a little example on how to use each formula!" Yosuke laughed weakly, still a bit embarrassed. In fact, he was so embarrassed that he was actually five steps ahead of Hitomi without even noticing.

Upon reaching the entrance, Yosuke blinked in surprise, noticing three girls who appeared to be first years due to the slight changes of the uniform design suddenly dashing outside with umbrellas; leaving a locker from the second year open.

 _Were those girls messing in Hitomi's shoe locker?_ Yosuke wondered, recognizing Hitomi's locker from afar based on the level it was on. Hitomi's locker was right below Yosuke's and to the left of Yukiko and Nise's. Curious as to what they were doing, Yosuke walked over to Hitomi's locker and peeked inside.

 _...Wha-?!_ Yosuke gasped, anger and surprise soon boiling within his blood. Clear as day, Yosuke saw several tacks sticking up from the base of Hitomi's outdoor shoes. Yosuke quickly took out her shoes and carefully picked out the tacks, stuffing them in his pockets. Luckily for him, it seemed as if Yosuke managed to scare the girls off before they had began to really stuff the tacks in. Once all the tacks were pulled out, Yosuke quickly closed Hitomi's locker to make it seem as if nothing had happened. Yosuke let out a long sigh, closing his eyes. If there were tacks in Hitomi's shoes, then that means...

"Hey, Hanamura. Look who I found" Hitomi called out, causing Yosuke to flinch. Looking over to the stairs, he saw Hitomi and Kanji walking towards him from the left side of the hallway- telling Yosuke that when she reached the bottom floor, she noticed Kanji, approached and talked to him, before leading him to the entrance.

"Kanji? What are you doing here?" Yosuke asked as they stopped next to him.

"I fell asleep trying to teach Ryo some English" Kanji sighed as he scratched his head, looking drowsy and annoyed. "When I woke up, he was already gone. Little brat, thinking he can ditch me when I'm passed out. _He_ was the one who even asked me to help him out..." Yosuke blinked in surprise, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's weird- we saw him on our way over to the library. He was by himself and he wanted to push the alarm" Yosuke mused.

"Maybe he was carried away by some fans? That happened yesterday when he was walking me to the place I'm staying at" Hitomi guessed, recalling the events last night.

"Really...? Guess he can't say no to fans" Kanji sighed, sounding bored.

"Well, he was alone, so maybe he did?" Yosuke guessed, shrugging. Kanji huffed as he walked over to the first year lockers, quickly opening his which was the very top at the edge.

"Dunno and don't care- little brat ditched me which is more than enough for me to never do him a favor _again_ " Kanji said simply, sounding like some sort of frustrated teacher. Yosuke and Hitomi found this to be humorous and also gave Hitomi some hope. Even though he doesn't act or look like it, Kanji seemed to be a good student.

Following the lead of Kanji, Hitomi and Yosuke began to pull out their outdoor shoes from their lockers and slipping them on. Thankfully for Yosuke, Hitomi didn't seem to notice that her shoes were tampered with or moved.

Hitomi, being surprisingly swift, managed to slip on her shoes first, grab her umbrella, and began to walk off campus- leaving Yosuke and Kanji behind as she began to think of what she could cook for dinner if Nanako hadn't bought anything.

Yosuke managed to be the second one to slip on his outdoor shoes, causing him to quickly grab him umbrella and stop Kanji from leaving the building.

"Hey, Kanji!" Yosuke called out as Kanji walked towards him.

Kanji blinked in confusion and surprise, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Have you noticed anything… _strange_ in your class?" Yosuke asked quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.

"Strange? What do mean?" Kanji asked as he reached over Yosuke and grabbed his own umbrella.

"Well, I saw some first years messing with Narukami-chan's locker..." Yosuke began, as he and Kanji began to walk outside. "...And in her shoes, I found some tacks."

"WHAT?!" Kanji couldn't help but shout, surprised and rather outrange by Yosuke's words. Yosuke quickly looked over to him and glared, not wanting to draw unwanted attention from the few students who were also leaving from clubs or studying. Quickly understanding what Yosuke was trying to do, Kanji opened his umbrella and acted like nothing had happened- Yosuke doing the same.

"So, d-does that mean…?" Kanji asked softly as the two began to walk towards the front gate to leave.

"Yeah..." Yosuke muttered, his eyes narrowing. "She's being targeted for bullying." Kanji's hand tightened around the umbrella's handle, anger growing within him. How _dare_ those people try and harm Hitomi, his Senpai?! The mere thought of her getting hurt by people in this world gave him a near blood-thirsty motive.

With a deep breath, pushing aside his anger and frustration, and asked, "So? Did you notice anything?"

"Well, um..." Kanji hummed, thinking hard if he noticed anything out of the ordinary. "Oh! I did see a group of chicks whisperin' with each other before school ended. I thought that they were just some fans of Ryo, but they looked a lot more scary than adoring, y'know?" Yosuke flinched in surprise, pursing his lips together.

"So it really is the first years, huh…?" Yosuke sighed. It was always easy to tell apart the first, second and third years after a while of living in the town. Since he didn't really do much before this whole mess started, Yosuke picked up the differences and is now the master at telling the differences between the three grade levels.

"Why the hell are the underclassmen bullying Narukami…?" Yosuke hummed as he cupped his chin like Hitomi would sometimes do when she's thinking.

"Should we tell her?" Kanji asked, worried for his Senpai's safety.

Yosuke flinched at Kanji's proposal and shook his head furiously, saying, "Wha- no! No no, we can't do that!"

"Why not?" Kanji asked, annoyed, as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" Yosuke began, looking away sheepishly. "She's still a bit upset about King Moron's death, and with the upcoming exams- she really doesn't need any more stress. That'll just make it more difficult for her to sleep..."

Kanji blinked in surprise, unaware that Hitomi had sleeping problems. "What do you suggest we do, then?"

Yosuke thought for a minute, carefully planning out the options and the certain consequences that might play out if they do them. "...I think the best thing for us to do right now is to just keep this secret from her and the other's. At least until we find out why they're bullying her. You're a first year- so you're gonna have to tell me when those girls start acting weirder than today. Got it?" Kanji nodded, a little upset about not telling Hitomi straight up. The two boys continued to walk together, discussing ways in how they could avoid suspicion and look after Hitomi at the same time, separating ways when it came to a bend in the road.

* * *

 _Wednesday, July 13th_ | _Evening..._

Nanako looked worried some at the clock in her home, the sound of the television on in the background. It was already eight in the evening and Nanako still hadn't seen her older cousin, Hitomi. Nanako looked down at her store bought food and sighed, her body filled with worried. This was the first time that Hitomi hadn't called or arrived to the Dojima residence so late. She was always prompt in arriving an hour or two after Nanako did so they could talk and play. Yesterday, Hitomi was rather late because she was studying. Nanako didn't mind because in the end, Hitomi came home before five. But it's eight now and Hitomi hasn't even called...

Nanako let out a sigh as she rested her head on the table, sadly watching the television with very little interest- even if it was her favorite anime. Suddenly, the phone rang, causing Nanako to gasp and jump up; quickly running over to the with hope that it was Hitomi.

"Dojima residence!" Nanako answered energetically, to the point where she sounded as if she had shouted.

" _Nanako?_ " It was Hitomi.

"Oh, Big Sis!" Nanako exclaimed, excitedly in relief. "Where are you? It's so late!"

" _Sorry, I'm over at a friends house and I'll be spending the night. They got hurt today, you see, so I'm going to take care of them. Make sure to lock up the house and don't open the door for strangers_ " Hitomi explained. Nanako pouted, a bit sad that she would have to spend the night alone by herself. But she then smiled, glad and proud that her cool older cousin was helping out her friends.

"Okay, I'll be sure to lock up the fort real good! See you tomorrow, Big Sis!" Nanako cheered.

" _Right_ " Hitomi said simply, shortly hanging up the phone. Nanako blink, realizing something strange in Hitomi's voice during the call. It sounded as if she was whispering… And the sound of moving vehicles were audible in the background. Nanako hummed in thought before placing the phone back to the charger, not giving it much thought.

Meanwhile, over on Hitomi's end, she let out a shuddered sigh as she tightly grasped her phone to her chest. Hitomi was covered in dirt, small cuts, and bruises; her body shivering. If one were to see her, they would be confused as to why she was cold for it was the beginning of summer- the nights were humid and warm like they were tonight.

But no one would have seen her. No one would have questioned as to why she was covered in filth.

For you see, Hitomi was lying at the bottom of a ditch next to the highway.

Rewinding back to an hour ago, to around seven in the afternoon, Hitomi began to recall the events that lead to this one in crystal clear memory.

-Flashback-

 _Hitomi was calmly making her way towards the Dojima residence, taking a bit of a detour to the fastest way there. For the past six hours, Hitomi has been helping Nise, Ryo, and even Yukiko with stuff for the exams. They stayed for about two hours at the school, but once it was time to go, they headed for Marukyu Tofu since there was more room in Ryo's bedroom than Nise's house and was a lot closer than Yukiko's. The four of them had lots of fun, even if the boys barely made any progress, and ended up doing homework together. When they had realized how late it gotten, Nise, Yukiko, and Hitomi bid each other farewell and began to walk on home. Hitomi, being so busy with her friends, had forgotten to call Nanako that she'd be heading home late._

" _I should tell her I'm on my way…" Hitomi hummed to no one in particular as she began to quicken the pace._

 _Suddenly, as Hitomi turned the corner, seeing the Dojima residence at the bottom of the hill, a sudden "Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiink!" screamed. Surprised, Hitomi stopped and stared ahead, noticing three flashing lights quickly making their way up the hill. Hitomi just stared, wondering why people were biking so late. Sure, the sun was still out, but that didn't mean that it was still midday. The flashing lights soon started to get closer and closer to the top of the hill, causing Hitomi to get nervous. She slowly began to take some steps out of the way, not wanting to get hit._

 _But with each step she made, Hitomi began to notice… That the bikes…_

 _Were heading towards_ _ **her**_ _._

 _Hitomi shivered in fear and turned around, running away in the direction she had came. Looking over her shoulder, hitomi saw three girls on bikes turning their bikes her direction as they came to the top of the hill. All blood drained from Hitomi's face as her eyes shrank in fear, causing her to look forward and begin to sprint._

" _W-Why are you chasing me?!" Hitomi panted as she ran, too scared to look back at the bikes. There was a moment of silence when suddenly: "POP"! A small explosion sparked next to Hitomi's left foot, causing her to squeak in surprise. They were throwing firecrackers._

" _Run! Run little whore pig!" the three girls cheered evilly, their voices creating perfect unison. Hitomi began to sweat as she picked up her speed, running faster than she ever thought she could. It must have been thanks to all those days she trained with her friends. The girls on the bikes began to throw more and more firecrackers, some hitting Hitomi's legs which caused her to wince. Running straight ahead, crossing the empty highway leading to the Samegawa Flood Plains, Hitomi suddenly tripped and fell- disappearing from the female bikers. The trio stopped right before the highway on the other side as a large delivery truck drove by. The trio looked confused as to where Hitomi had went. They had half a mind to go and chase after her, but with the sun setting and cars beginning to drive by, the trio turned around and laughed as they biked away- unaware that Hitomi had fell into a ditch. Quivering and shivering in fear and exhaustion, adrenaline pumping through her blood, Hitomi stayed still and held her breath; her eyes watering._

 _-End Flashback_ -

Thinking back to the earlier events, Hitomi clutched her phone tighter in her hands. Chased away by the things she fears and all alone in a ditch, Hitomi became too scared to move- even when the sun had set, making the ditch seem almost like an abyss of darkness. Hitomi closed her eyes tightly, trying to seal off the sound of the passing by cars, and pressed her lips together. Hitomi began to pray, wishing for someone to find her… So that she wouldn't have to be alone. So that she wouldn't feel as if she was being buried alive. She didn't care who. She just wanted someone… Anyone…

 _Save me…!_

Yosuke suddenly blinked, and looked over his shoulder- a sudden wave of worry washing over him. He was in the middle of closing up Junes with his father, his eyes practically glued to the windows as he stared out of them.

"What's wrong, Yosuke?" Hanase asked, noticing his son's inactivity and worried look. Yosuke didn't seem to hear his father, continuing to stare out the large windows as if searching for something. Hanase raised an eyebrow and placed his hand on Yosuke's right shoulder, causing him to snap out of whatever trance he was in.

"What? Oh, er… Nothing, must've been my imagination" Yosuke said as he resumed marking down which security alarm was working and which ones weren't. Hanase stared at Yosuke for a moment, seeming unconvinced by his sons words, before returning to his work as well.

 _I thought… I heard Narukami for a minute there…_ Yosuke thought to himself, occasionally glancing out to the windows. He couldn't put his finger on it… But he had a feeling that something very bad is going to happen.

* * *

 _Thursday, July 14th_ | _Early Morning_

Thursday morning, Yosuke ran over to Kanji's house and dragged him to school early. It was barely even seven, the time that students begin to make their way to school. But with that worrisome feeling Yosuke had last night, he wanted to head their earlier. Kanji, being a bit tired, took a minute to try and wake up. He knew that hitomi was important and that starting now, they had to arrive to school early to make sure that no one messes with her things, but it was _too_ early for Kanji's tastes. He was up studying pretty late like a good kid to make Hitomi proud.

Once arriving at school, Yosuke and Kanji immediately began to see the casualties… And the results astonished them to disbelief. Already, at seven in the morning, the duo found: Hitomi's slippers to be missing, her notebooks missing, and some pictures of Ryo in his grandmother's shop with the words: "To My Kohai" written on them in red pen. Whoever were bullying Hitomi meant business… They wanted her reputation to go down drastically. Luckily for the two, they managed to find Hitomi's slippers and notebooks rather quickly with the help of some of the sport team members and culture club members who had to come to school early on some days. As for the pictures, Kanji at first suggested to stuff them into the girl's desks, but Yosuke knew that it would have upset Hitomi, as well as Ryo; and decided to throw them away underneath a pile of tissue.

It was 7:43, the two exhausted from having to do so much running around in their school building. It was bad enough that it was rather large, but once it started to be filled with other students, it became even more difficult. Letting out a sigh, Yosuke looked up in exhaustion when he noticed Yukiko running to their direction with a duffle bag.

"Huh? Hey, Yukiko!" Yosuke called out, catching the running girl's attention.

"Oh, Yosuke. And Kanji, too! Good morning" Yukiko greeted. "What are you two doing here so early?"

"That's what we should be asking you, Senpai" Kanji pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "What's with the bag?" Yukiko look down at her hands, her expression turning into one of worry before looking back up at the guys.

"I got a message from Hi-chan earlier asking me to bring a duffle bag for her to change into her gym jersey. Apparently her uniform got dirty" Yukiko explained, sounding worried. It wasn't everyday that Hitomi messaged other's. Usually, people- like Yukiko- would message _Hitomi_. Yukiko, before she had read the message, was ecstatic to receive a message from Hitomi. But that joy quickly faded and was replaced with worry.

Kanji and Yosuke flinched at this, sweat rolling down their jaws as they both muttered, "No way…!" The two boys exchanged glances before nodding, agreeing as to what to do now.

"Yukiko, we need to tell you something- but you can't tell Nise or Ryo" Yosuke began, looking at her straight in the eye. Yukiko couldn't help but blink in surprise, not used to seeing this serious side.

"Those two dipheads will make it worse, so you can't tell 'em" Kanji huffed, thinking about how the two would mess up.

Looking back and forth between the boys, Yukiko blinked nervously, feeling more worried that she did before. "Uh… O-Okay. What is it?"

* * *

"Here's the duffle bag" Yukiko said with a smile, extending her arm out to Hitomi who had just removed her sailor top- only wearing her underwear- and started to change into her white shirt and school jersey.

"Thank you..." Hitomi thanked softly, without looking over to Yukiko."Um, you can just leave it there on the bench..."

"Oh, alright..." Yukiko replied as she placed the bag down, shortly returning to watching hitomi change. She noticed that Hitomi's body is covered in bruises and unusual markings- as if she had been laying on something and was imprinted there. Hitomi slowly turned around, revealing her rather lifeless looking eyes that seemed to have light bangs underneath them. Glancing down, Yukiko noticed a noticeable bruise on Hitomi's left knee, looking fresh.

"What happened to you, Hi-chan? It looks like you bruised your left knee…!" Yukiko pointed out, causing Hitomi to flinch.

"Um… I fell into a ditch" Hitomi replied slowly as she took a step back, slipping on her jersey pants.

"W-What, really?!" Yukiko exclaimed, surprised. "How?!"

"I… I wasn't really looking where I was going, I guess..." Hitomi replied, not looking at Yukiko in the eyes. Yukiko felt her heart throb in pain, thinking that Hitomi wasn't telling the truth. Yukiko looked way as Hitomi continued to change, recalling the discussion earlier with Yosuke and Kanji...

- _Flashback_ -

" _Oh my God..." Yukiko muttered, covering her mouth with her hands after hearing the horrible reality of her dear friend Hitomi being bullied. The three of them had moved to a more discreet place so that no one could hear what they were saying and keep those who have no part in the situation out._

 _The surprise and sympathy that Yukiko felt for Hitomi slowly turned to anger, outraged that people would be bullying Hitomi. "Why would anyone do such a thing? I mean, all Hi-chan has been doing is taking care of people! How could they...?!"_

" _We don't know yet- that's what me and Kanji are trying to figure out while we keep her in the dark about the whole situation" Yosuke explained as he crossed his arms over his chest._

" _We think that it might be related to Ryo, but we aren't sure why yet"Kanji added, leaning back on the wall behind him._

" _I see…" Yukiko muttered, looking down at the duffle bag in her hands._

 _Yukiko thought for a moment before nodding and looking up at Yosuke, saying, "I won't tell her about it- but you guys have to let me help you solve this as well!" Yosuke and Kanji blinked, unsure as to what to do. They did decide to tell Yukiko about the situation so that she could keep an eye on Hitomi, but they weren't exactly expecting her to help them on their little private investigation._

" _Well… Alright, sure- just don't let Narukami-chan become suspicious of you" Yosuke said with a nod, deciding that it would be for the best. "When you're done helping Narukami-chan, go to the library and tell us what you think."_

 _Yukiko nodded and turned around, shortly dashing off to the girl's locker room where she would meet Hitomi._

- _End Flashback_ -

Yukiko's hands tightened, rolling up into fists, as she pursed her lips together.

* * *

"What? You think it's becoming physical already?!" Yosuke exclaimed, surprised at what he had just heard. Within five to seven minute after arriving at the library, Yukiko bursted in with a red face and panting, quickly telling the boys about Hitomi's appearance and how Yukiko thought Hitomi became like that.

"Yeah. Hi-chan isn't so much as a klutz to fall _right into_ a ditch. Someone must have pushed her in or something" Yukiko mused with a nod.

"Damnit, how'd it come to this…?!" Yosuke growled, slamming a fist to the table he was sit on.

"Freakin' pricks… When I find out who's doing this, I'ma pummel them to next week!" Kanji growled, his blood boiling in anger.

"I agree. No one hurts _my_ partner and get's away with it" Yosuke huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "...We can't leave Narukami by herself anymore. The three of us should cycle through and walk her home everyday until the situation gets settled." Kanji and Yukiko nodded in understanding, Yukiko shortly placing a hand to her chest.

"I can walk her home after school- I planned on hanging out with her today, anyways" Yukiko offered.

Yosuke and Kanji nodded, Yosuke saying, "Alright. Keep her safe, okay?"

* * *

 _Morning..._

The first class of the day was Japanese literature- a class that Hitomi enjoyed. But Yosuke, who had been keeping an eye on Hitomi since the two were in the same room, noticed that Hitomi didn't seem very energetic or enthusiastic about the upcoming lesson like she usually would. Yosuke heart seemed to throb at the sight of this, thinking that it was cute to see Hitomi get all shifty with excitement. To see her so… Emotionless was like a stab to the heart. Hanamura let out a soft sigh as he rested his head to the palm of his hand as Hosoi finally started class.

"I'm sure you're all feeling anxious, knowing your homeroom teacher is deceased…" Hosoi began, taking note of the several upset looks. "Well, to be honest, us teachers are kind of afraid ourselves. The culprit is still on the loose. But there's no sense wasting time moaning about it. Let's get to work! Today, we'll talk about Kobo Daishi, or Kuukai. First, look at this kanji."

Some of the students did what Hosoi had told them, while some students simply stared at the puppet on Hosoi's left hand, who's mouth was starting to move.

"Hey, Hosoi-chan, isn't that a misprint in the textbook? It's supposed to be "応"!" Hosoi said in a higher voice, trying hard to make it seem like Hosoi wasn't actually talking for the illusion that his hand-puppet was the one talking. But, Hosoi didn't do a very good job.

"Haha, good eye, but no" Hosoi continued, thinking that he was doing a good job with fooling his students. "This is the wrong kanji, but the book is supposed to print it this way. It's actually quoting...hmm?" Hosoi stopped the lesson, blinking in surprise as he noticed that Hitomi wasn't looking down at her notebook taking notes like she usually would, and was staring at the hand-puppet.

"Narukami-chan, quit staring at the puppet and pay attention to the book!" Hosoi huffed. "Which famous Heian-era monk famously used a wrong version of the "応" kanji?"

Hitomi stared blankly at Hosoi and his hand-puppet for a minute before gasping, quickly standing up in realization. "I-I'm sorry… Uh, can you repeat the question?"

The classroom suddenly erupted in one major gasp, students immediately turning to their neighbor and start whispering.

"Whoa, Narukami-san wasn't paying attention?"

"This is a first. She usually pays good attention and answers almost immediately because of how much she studies!"

"And it's not like she sucks with literature- you think she's sick?"

Hosoi was rather surprised as well, knowing Hitomi to be a rather strange but smart girl who has been doing exceptionally well in her classes so far. Hosoi opened his mouth to ask if Hitomi was fleeing well, but noticing the scared and tired look in her eyes, Hosoi decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Alright, quiet down, quiet down. Everyone has their off days. The questions was: which famous Heian-era monk famously used a wrong version of the "応" kanji?" Hosoi repeated in a kind voice.

"O-Oh… That'd be Kuukai" Hitomi answered, seeming to have relaxed by the sound of Hosoi's kind tone. Hosoi smiled and nodded, causing Hitomi to sit down, picking up her pencil and jotting something down.

"Yep, that's right, it was Kuukai. You were listening after all" Hosoi joked. "There's an old saying: 'Even Kobo made mistakes in writing.' Kobo is another name for Kuukai, and this was the mistake he made. This happened when he wrote the name "Outenmon" on the frame of the Outen gates in the city of Kyo. But, it wasn't until after they put the frame up that he noticed that he missed the dot on top of the character. Instead of taking the entire thing down to redo it, he added the dot by throwing his calligraphy brush at the gate."

Yukiko nodded to herself as she wrote down some notes, shooting a quick glance over to Hitomi, noticing that she wasn't writing anymore and was just staring blankly at her notebook.

"By the way, my wife made this doll for me by hand. Don't you think she did a great job making it look like me?" Hosoi laughed, blushing at the mention of his wife. The class didn't reply, instead giving some uncomfortable stares. Hosoi, picking up the hint, cleared his throat and continued the lesson.

Nise, having noticed Hitomi's strange attitude, leaned over to her and whispered, "Hey, you feeling alright?"

Hitomi, snapping back to reality by the sound of Nise's voice, looked over at him and blinked. Noticing the close distances they were at, Hitomi leaned away, looking up the chalkboard that Hosoi was writing on.

"Yeah..." Hitomi replied softly. Nise stared at Hitomi in concern, raising an eyebrow at her behavior. Yosuke on the other hand, having witnessed the duo's conversation, felt his heart throb once again. He, Kanji, and Yukiko had to find out just what's going on soon so they can put an end to it...

* * *

 _After school..._

Once school was over, Yukiko managed to stop Hitomi from sprinting out of the classroom and asked her if they could hang out. Yosuke, who would have usually dashed off to head to Junes, stayed in his seat and watched the two talk. If Yukiko couldn't manage to get Hitomi to go with her, then Yosuke would try. And if Yosuke couldn't do it either, they would depend on Kanji. Of course, if neither of the three could manage to walk Hitomi home, they'd all just do it in secret. But, thankfully, Hitomi decided to go with ; much to Yosuke's relief. It's not that he _didn't_ want to be with Hitomi, it was the opposite if he was being honest with himself, but by having time alone- he and Kanji would be able to do some more investigation.

Once the two girls were ready to leave school, Yukiko and Hitomi walked together towards Tatsuhime Shrine. She brought Hitomi there, saying she wanted to pay her respects. Also, Yukiko thought that the quietness of the Shine would help hitomi to relax from her unusual jumpiness.

"I come here every so often. It's nice and quiet..." Yukiko sighed softly having just finished a prayer for Hitomi's safety. "I visit here with the waitresses, too. Like before a big guest arrives. We make our annual hatsumode visits here. The exam charm was here, too..." Hitomi stared at Yukiko in slight amusement, intrigued that Yukiko would be the type of girl who believed in the works of charms. Hitomi didn't have a strong belief in them since she wa the type of girl who believed in the power of hard work. Of course, however, that doesn't mean there will come times where she turns towards protection charms for her friends. A protection charm was actually her last gift to her Senpai before they had left her behind.

Yukiko looked over to Hitomi, who was sitting on the second stair holding the donation box, and muttered with a frown; "Once I leave this town… I won't be able to come here again, will I…?"

Hitomi blinked in surprise, tilting her head slightly as she asked, "You're not coming back? What about your family?"

Yukiko flinched and shook her head, looking down. "I mean… I-I couldn't. I couldn't face my parents again..." Hitomi stared at Yukiko for a moment, her heart -which had been clutched in fear for the most of the day- softened in sympathy.

"Oh, Yuki-chan!" a feminine and gentle voice called out, startling the two girls. A woman, around her late twenties or early thirties, wearing a blue kimono approached Yukiko with a kind smile on her face. Hitomi blinked in surprise at the sight of the woman, wondering what her connection with Yukiko is.

"Kasai-san… What are you doing here?" Yukiko asked, blinking in surprise at the woman's presence.

"Taking a little break after ordering from the liquor store" Kasai answered obediently with a smile. The woman then gasped and sighed, suddenly realizing what she said and to who.

Kasai sighed, lowering her head slightly. "So now you know..."

"O-Oh, I won't tell..." Yukiko replied, flustered, a bit unsure as to what to do. Over at the Amagi Inn, waitresses weren't allowed to drink alcohol for Yukiko's father was a bit of a traditional man.

"Hahaha, just kidding!" Kasai laughed- which surprised Yukiko and Hitomi- amused that she was able to fool her young mistress. Yukiko sighed as Kasai began to calm down, looking over to Hitomi in an apologetic manner.

Finally taking notice to Hitomi, Kasai smiled and asked, "Oh! Is that the rumored mentor?" Noticing that the attention was on her, Hitomi stood up.

"Um, hello. My name is Narukami. Hitomi Narukami" Hitomi greeted as she bowed. "I'm Yukiko-chan's friend and classmate. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'mentor', though."

Yukiko blushed in embarrassment as Kasai laughed, saying, "Oh, Yuki-chan goes on and on about you! She practically _idolizes_ you!"

"K-Kasai-san…!" Yukiko muttered shyly, her face becoming redder.

Noticing Yukiko's embarrassment, Kasai smiled and winked at Hitomi. "Hey, Hi-chan, dear? Do me a favor and teach this girl how to make something for Ni-kun so that he'll fall helplessly for her~!" Hitomi blinked in surprise by Kasai's words, having previously thought that she was the only one Yukiko told was in love with Nise.

Yukiko's face exploded in embarrassment, flailing her arms wildly as she screamed, "K-KASAI-SAN!"

"I'll do my best" Hitomi replied, teasingly, as the corners of her lips twitched upward.

Noticing the playful tone in Hitomi's voice, Yukiko blinked in surprise and looked at her friend. For the first time today, Hitomi seemed like her normal self- bringing a great joy to her. "H-Hey, Hi-chan...!"  
"Ahaha! I guess I better be going. It was nice meeting you, dear" Kasai, laughed, seeming to have enjoyed herself. Hitomi nodded farewell as Yukiko let out a short sigh of exhaustion with a smile.

"Sh-Sheesh… I-I'm sorry about that. Oh, that was one of our waitresses" Yukiko explained, soon realizing that she hadn't introduced Kasai to Hitomi properly. Hitomi nodded, taking note of Kasai, as Yukiko covered her cheeks with her hands in a bashful manner.

"How embarrassing…! The very next day I tell you that I like Nise and Kasai-san comes and says that…!" Yukiko hummed, _very_ embarrassed by the event. She was so embarrassed, she seems to be sweating unnaturally. Hitomi thought it was rather cute and wondered if that was one of the signs about being in love with another person.

"...You know, Kasai-san is teaching me how to cook, along with the other waitresses and chefs" Yukiko began, once she had calmed herself down. "I said I'd learn on my one, but I kept messing up… I burnt myself a couple of times."

Hitomi blinked in surprise and worry, asking, "A-Are you alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah- I'm fine" Yukiko reassured, smiling. Hitomi let out a soft sigh of relief, causing Yukiko's smile to widen.

"You know… It's funny. 'Please let us teach you,' they said" Yukiko began, recalling the events prior when the staff had begged and pleaded to help. "It's usually the other way around, you know? They use up their break time for my lessons… They're so nice to me..."

"I told you, didn't I?" Hitomi commented, sounding just a smidge cocky, as she recalled the previous time the two had hung out and went shopping.

"Yeah..." Yukiko giggled, recalling the memory as well. "When I was halfway successful one time, everyone gathered around and taste-tested it, saying how good it was… I didn't know what to say… I was just happy..."

Hitomi stared at Yukiko for a minute, thinking of something to say, when she teased "Imagine if Nise-kun said that to you." Yukiko blushed and turned around, placing her hands on her hips.

"Sh-Shush!" Yukiko sputtered. Hitomi felt something tickle in her throat as she held up her hands in a surrendering way. Yukiko couldn't help but laugh, her red face quickly vanishing. Once Yukiko had stopped laughing, she smiled and turned around; looking up to the light pink and blue sky, folding her hands behind her back.

"...I have my friends at school, too, besides from them. All things considered, I'm pretty lucky…" Yukiko began, her sounding grateful. "I want to do my best. For everyone's sake..." Yukiko then looked down at the ground, catching Hitomi's attention.

"But I'm trying to leave… Betraying those who've been kind to me… I… can't help that, I suppose..." Yukiko muttered, sounding guilty. Hitomi stared at Yukiko in empathy, shortly looking away when fear once again got a hold on her heart. Scared, Hitomi told Yukiko that she was going to head to the Dojima Residence. Yukiko offered to walk Hitomi there, but Hitomi strongly rejected and quickly walked away to isolation. Yukiko, aware of the situation, stared down the stairs in concern.

* * *

 _Friday, July 15th_ | _Morning..._

Just like yesterday, Yosuke, Kanji, and now Yukiko all arrived to the school early to do some investigations and hide the fact that Hitomi was being bullied. This time, waiting on top of Hitomi's desk was a vase with a single white lily- signifying that she was considered dead. Yosuke, Kanji, and Yukiko were shocked at the sight of this- new levels of anger rising up in them. They had become so angry that Yukiko ended up picking up the vase and throwing it at the wall, shortly crying from the sheer amount of anger in her. Yosuke and Kanji said nothing as they left their friend crying, standing guard by the door to make sure that no one would come into the room. Once Yukiko had recovered, the trio continued to look around the building- finding some notice papers that mocked, made fun of, and accused Hitomi of numerous things like using her looks to charm the teachers in giving her good grades. Now, it was time for the boys to get angry- shredding each paper up to bits without a second thought. Whoever was bullying Hitomi meant business and were setting up these traps either in the middle of the night or really early in the morning.

When more students started to fill the school, the trio split up and asked around about any suspicious students towards Ryo. Some said that there was a trio of girls who adored Ryo back when he had started his Idol career and were ecstatic to have him in their class. However, they suddenly stopped being annoying about Ryo and started to act like normal students. Students that didn't have a massive amount of love and admiration for Ryo. Some other students say that one girl has been confessing to Ryo everyday, and Ryo continuously shoots her down- saying that his heart wasn't that easy to steal and that it was focusing more on his "Senpai" than anyone or anything else. And then there were those useless students who basically went on and on about how cool Ryo was. Yosuke actually ended up getting into a heated argument with one student over which album from Ryo was the best. Nise, who had arrived with Hitomi, told Yosuke to stop being so gay which activated an argument between them.

Yosuke and Yukiko stared at their blank notes, trying to put together what all of their information from the helpful students meant. But, neither of them could concentrate- for different reasons. Yosuke couldn't concentrate because of the headache he got from Nise who had punched him for accidentally calling Kanji the gay one which brought back strange memories for the duo. Yukiko on the other hand couldn't concentrate because when she tried to drag Hitomi into the classroom in hope for them to sit and have a friendly conversation, Hitomi actually backed away in fear. Of course, Hitomi apologized immediately afterwards, realizing the pain they had caused. But Hitomi still went back over to her seat without touching anyone, acting as if she would melt if some did. Just what could it all mean, Yukiko wondered...

"...All right, that's the lesson about the Mariana Islands. Let's take a breather and talk about something fun!" the teacher, Yamada, sighed in relief with a smile. The class responded similarly, dropping their pencils with a hefty sigh.

"The Mariana Islands are in the area of the ocean where typhoons are born. There's a line on the map that typhoons can never cross. Let's see…" Yamada hummed, as he looked around the classroom for a prey. His eyes fell upon a certain silver-haired student, who was looking rather blank at her notebook, doing little exercises with her hands. "Hitomi-chan, you've blended into this class a little too well. Which line can a typhoon never cross?"

There was a moment of silence as the class stared intensely at Hitomi, both in confusion and concern. Nise cleared his throat and leaned over to Hitomi, whispering her name. Having heard Nise's voice, Hitomi quickly jumped to her feet and blinked- noticing that the class was staring at her.

Stunned and embarrassed for not paying attention, Hitomi's heart began to race; almost having a panic attack. All that Hitomi could manage to say was "H-Huh?"

Nise looked up at her in deep concern and quietly said, "Which line can a typhoon never cross, Narukami-chan…!"

Hearing Nise's words, Hitmi calmed down her racing heart and stuttered, "O-Oh… The equator."

"...Are you feeling alright, Hitomi-chan?" Yamada asked, concerned for the behavior of one of his most intelligent student.

"Er… Y-Yes, sir… Sorry, sir" Hitomi said simply before taking a seat, her head down. The classroom began to erupt in whispers, students all looking towards Hitomi in confusion and worry.

"Wow, it happened _again_ …!"

"Something is seriously going on with her..."

"Narukami-san should go to the nurse's office for our sake- what if the thing she has is contagious?"

"I hope she get's better soon…!"

Yamada stared at the silver haired girl for a moment, before clearing his throat, saying "Alright, everyone, settle down." The class went silent at Yamada's command, no longer paying attention to Hitomi. "Anyways, Hitomi-chan was correct. Typhoons are moved by global air currents called atmospheric circulation. If one forms in the northern hemisphere, it moves north. If it forms in the south, it moves south. That's why a typhoon can never cross the equator. Isn't that interesting? Make sure you tell your parents that I'm an interesting teacher, okay? Feedback like that affects my paycheck. Ahaha, just kidding! Let's continue the lesson!"

The class groaned softly in unamusement as Yamada began to flip through the pages of his textbook, several students following him as well. Nise, like some of the other students, didn't go through his textbook. He was too focused on Hitomi. After she had sat down from answering Yamada's question, Nise had noticed that she was trembling slightly from all the attention she was getting. Once Yamada got the spotlight away from her, Hitomi managed to calm down. Nise's heart throbbed in pain, worried for his friend and investigating partner. Resting his chin on the palm of his hand, Nise thought of ways to try and help Hitomi…

* * *

 _After school…_

Once school was over, Nise immediately began to talk with Hitomi- asking her if she would like to train. Hitomi, feeling afraid to be touched, softly rejected Nise. However, Nise insisted; suggesting that they don't have to do anything that requires the two of them to interact with one another and could simply go for a run and kick some stuff. Hitomi couldn't help but sigh and accept, finding Nise's usual energetic personality cute and contagious. Yosuke, Yukiko, and Kanji didn't say anything to interfere despite saying that they would cycle through to protect Hitomi. Since she would be with Nise, they didn't feel worried about her safety. However, Yosuke did feel a tiny bit of envy in his heart for he wanted to hang out with Hitomi and walk her home today. He was also hoping to eat dinner with her so he could play with Nanako. But, as long as she was safe, Yosuke managed to brush it off and together, with Yukiko and Kanji began to do some more investigation on who was bullying their friend.

"Whew! Nice workout today, eh?" Nise laughed, holding his uniform and jacket in his arms which had him only wearing his white shirt, allowing the fresh summer breeze to cool him after a good hour's work out, as he and Hitomi walked in the Central Business District.

Hitomi fanned herself with her left hand, sweat rolling down her face. "Yeah… For some reason I feel a bit more relaxed."

"Oh, really? Good! That's the reason why I asked you to train with me today- you haven't been looking well lately" Nise pointed out with a gentle smile, bending down a little to match Hitomi's level.

Hitomi blinked in surprise, taking notice of her strange behavior so far, and lowered her head; muttering, "Sorry..."

"Psh- don't apologise! Just get better- okay?" Nise chuckled, waving his hand in the air. He would have hugged her or ruffled her hair, but Nise ha notice the strange way Hitomi reacted when Yukiko tried to touch her and decided to not do anything of the sort. As the two walked, feeling relaxed and refreshed, they passed by the delicious smells of meat from Aiya's and Souzai Daigaku.

Nise thought for a moment, stopping in his tracks as he stared at Souzai Daigaku. Smiling, Nise looked over at Hitomi and asked, "Have you had the steak skewers? The meat is tender and delicious, and they hardly cost anything! It might not even be cow meat…!"

Hitomi blinked in surprise by this, sweat rolling down her jaw as she hummed, "Huh?"

"Just kidding!" Nise laughed, finding Hitomi's occasional gullible moments like this cute. "Whoa, thinking about it, that's kinda gross, haha..." There was a brief moment of silence as Hitomi and Nise actually gave it a thought, their stomach's turning with disgust at the replacements they started to come up with. Soon, a police officer walked in front of them, examining the front of Souzai Daigaku. Hitomi and Nise flinched upon noticing the officer looking at each other.

"The p-police are here…?!" Nise stuttered, wanting to make sure he wasn't just hallucinating. Hitomi blinked twice, becoming nervous.

"Th-Then is this place really serving fake meat…?" Hitomi asked. Nise gasped softly, sweat dripping furiously down his face in worry. What would he do with himself if one of his most precious meat-and-greets were to vanish?!

"Excuse me" the police officer suddenly greeted, noticing the two looking a bit suspicious, causing the duo to stand up straight and face the officer.

"Y-Yes? I haven't eaten any of the meat today, I swear!" Nise suddenly proclaimed, his brain all over the place from one bad scenario to another. The officer made a face and raised a brow, confused as to what Nise was talking about.

Hitomi, calming down and returning to normal logic, waved her hand dismissively, saying, "Er, ignore him… What can we do for you, officer?"

"Well, lately, there's been several incidents with a group of teenagers bullying people around here" the officer explained as he shifted his attention to Hitomi who looked and sounded a lot less crazy than Nise.

"...Bullying?" Nise repeated, snapping back to reality.

"Extortion, if you will. It's been happening recently in several towns and cities nearby. Have you seen anyone suspicious?" the officer asked. Hitomi and Nise looked at each other, blinked before looking back at the officer and shook their heads.

"No, no one in particular..." they replied at the same time. The officer nodded in gratitude, believing the two to be telling the truth.

"I see… Well, you two be careful then" the officer said before he turned around and walked away. Once the officer left the two alone, Hitomi looked over at Nise as he blinked.

"I'm glad it wasn't the meat..." He manage to say, looking over at Hitomi. Hitomi felt something tickle her throat as she nodded in agreement.

Nise sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing, "...But still, _bullying_?! What cowards! Ganging up on the weak like that!"

"Exactly" Hitomi agreed with a nod.

"It's so cruel! And stupid!" Nise continued, seeming outraged. Hitomi nodded once again, Nise sortly pounding a fist to his chest. "We'll grab 'em and make them apologize! Right, Narukami-chan?"

"Of course! Bullying is very uncivilized" Hitomi agreed, getting just as pumped as Nise was.

"Not the sort of word I would use, but I somehow knew you'd say that!" Nise huffed, restraining a laugh. He was happy that Hitomi had the same perspective as he did. Nise then blinked and suddenly crossed his arms, humming in thought.

"Mowing down villains and saving the weak, a lone fighter stands…" Nise began, sounding like a dramatic movie trailer narrator. "To protect the peace, he throws himself into the battlefield, unbeknownst to all…!"

Hitomi stared at Nise as he fell silent, striking a silly pose. Nise then jumped up to his feet and squealed, "Oooh, yeah! That sounds cool!" Hitomi felt her throat tickle by Nise's behavior, amused.

Nise quickly recovered and flashed a dashing smile, deepening his voice as he said, "Narukami-chan, leave it to me!"

"Okay" Hitomi replied simply, her throat tickling once again. Nise blushed by this, blinking nervously.

"Er, w-wait..." Nise stuttered, sweat rolling down his jaw. "I, um, I'd feel better about it if you helped… And it'd make me… kinda happy..." Hitomi blinked in surprise, her heart skipping a beat. Nise looked away as he rubbed the back of his head, seeming somewhat embarrassed.

"Okay" Hitomi replied, causing Nise to blink in surprise. Looking back over at Hitomi, he noticed that she looked perfectly fine- the warm look in her eyes as she had before.

"Pft- you're strange today" Nise chuckled, smiling brightly. "You know, I got the perfect cure: Steak skewers!" Nise crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head slightly, thinking.

"'Don't think. Feel...' right? Actually in this case, would it be, 'Don't think. Eat...'?" Nise mused. Hitomi shrugged, the tickle in her throat growing. She was glad that she had this chance to spend some time with Nise. After what had happened the other day, hanging out with her friends have been truly calming her down.

* * *

 _Saturday, July 16th_ | _Morning..._

Saturday- the last official day of certain freedom for Yosuke, Kanji, and Yukiko. They only had today to gather all the information they can from other students to finally figure out what has been happening. Yesterday's search rather well, the trio finally being able to strongly confirm that Ryo was the cause of all this mess. However, they still couldn't get the number or gender of the bullies. Some students say that a group of fanboys of Ryo has been acting strangely and have been causing trouble for him. Other say that one of his die-hard fangirls has been stepping waaaaay over boundaries lately. Yosuke just couldn't firmly point his finger at anyone- or a specific gender in general. He was getting too many mixed information- he couldn't even be sure if the freshmen were the ones bullying Hitomi anymore because the school was packed with Ryouta fans from each grade level.

Arriving at school early this morning as usual, however, Kanji and Yukiko began to assume that the bully was a male student. Entering class 2-2, they immediately noticed that someone had moved Hitomi's desk, a rope being it's replacement. The trio became incredibly mad, Yosuke and Kanji suggesting to bring the rope so that they could strangle the bully with it. Yukiko, however, managed to calm them down by reminding them that any sort of violence will make Hitomi sad. The three of them managed to find Hitomi's desk in the school storage room which wasn't closed all the way and had Kanji carry it all the way back. As for the rope, they threw it inside the storage room where it might feel at home.

Once students started filling in the building, the trio decided to just stand over on the sidelines and watch for any suspicious behavior. When Hitomi arrived, she was between Ryo and a very happy Nise who was going on and on about a new movie that was going to be released over at 30 Frame during the summer. Yosuke couldn't help but notice how calm Hitomi looked, almost looking like her normal self between the two boys. Yosuke was glad that Hitomi was getting better from her strange behavior, but he also felt a strange pain in his heart at the fact that Ryo and Nise were the ones beside her. He cared about Hitomi probably more than anyone else in the group. Hitomi was special to Yosuke and the fact that he wasn't the one making Hitomi relax hurt his heart. And whenever he shifted his gaze to Ryo, the pain only grew, feeling more angry than anything. But he couldn't figure out the reason as to why… Even now, sitting in his chair behind Hitomi during their history class, Yosuke didn't understand why his heart stung the way it did whenever he saw Hitomi and Ryo together. Just like that time Ryo showed intimacy towards Hitomi and she seemed perfectly fine with it...

"...And that's our lesson on the Saxon Wars that Charlemagne brought about during the 8th and 9th centuries" Sofue sighed as she turned towards her class, having just finished writing on the chalkboard. "Speaking of Charlemagne, the king of hearts in a deck of cards is supposedly modeled after him. The king of hearts has a characteristic that the other kings don't. I wonder if any of you knows what it is…" The students all raised a brow and shifted in their seats as they looked at their friends, wondering if they had known. Sofue used this opportunity to scan the room and look for a student who _wasn't_ confused by her words. Soon, her eyes fell upon Hitomi's silver hair.

Sofue smiled and commanded, "Well, Narukami. Please stand up!"

Hitomi blinked and looked up, noticing that she was called on. Hitomi stood up and muttered, "Oh, uh… Yes?" This caused a little bit of commotion from her classmates, but not much since Hitomi nearly responded right away like she normally would had.

"Tell me what makes the king of hearts look different from the other kings in a standard deck of cards" Sofue asked, kindly. Hitomi blinked in confusion, wondering what had roped in a deck of cards during the class lesson.

"Huh…? Uh… Isn't it because he has no mustache?" Hitomi replied as she tilted her head.

"Hohoho...You notice the details, Narukami. That's good" Sofue chuckled, seeming pleased that one of her top students still stayed true to that title. Hitomi sat back down as Sofue continued, "Yes, the king of hearts is the only one without a mustache. Back then, playing cards were made using the same methods as books, by etching and engraving. It's said a clerk's hand slipped… And the resulting mistake with his chisel shaved off the mustache! Since then, that design has become commonplace, and so the king of hearts is simply drawn without a mustache. Isn't this a great example of one small mistake making its way into history? You never know where those little doodles you make on your answer sheets will end up in the future."

* * *

 _Lunch..._

Hitomi sat at her desk, blankly, as Hosoi finished up his lesson and awaited the lunch bell like the rest of his students. Once it rang, the class erupted with activity and voices, hungry students rushing out of the classroom before Hosoi even got to leave. Nise, who had been sleeping for the past 15 minutes, awoken at the sound of the bell- half conscious. Yukiko and Yosuke both stood up and moved in front of Hitomi's desk, catching her attention.

"Hey, Narukami-chan! Wanna eat lunch with us?" Yosuke asked looking extra cheerful.

"Well…" Hitomi mused as she blinked, her eyes glued to Yosuke's unusually wide smile. There was something about it that made her more relaxed since the beginning of the week. The corner of Hitomi's lips twitched as she nodded with an "Alright."

"Great! Let's go!" Yosuke and Yukiko both said at the same time, startling Hitomi and fully awakening Nise.

Blinking in surprise, Nise looked over to the trio besides him and raised an eyebrow. "What are you all doing? Are we having a lunch gathering?"

Yukiko exclaimed, seeming to have liked the idea and clapped her hands together in front of her lips and cheered, "Oh, that would be fun! Let's go and get Kanji and Ryo!"

"Sure, that sounds good! I'll go on ahead and get them" Yosuke chuckled weakly, seeming to have lost a good chunk of his earlier enthusiasm and cheerfulness before running out of the classroom to get his two other friends. Noticing Yosuke's lacking cheerfulness before dashing off, Hitomi looked down at her feet as Nise stood up, feeling something cold in her stomach. Once ready, the trio all started to slowly make their way out of the classroom.

"Hey, Hi-chan?" Yukiko asked nervously, tilting her head slightly to catch the silver haired girl's attention. "Have you been doing all right?"

"...Yeah" Hitomi replied, looking away. An awkward atmosphere quickly surrounded the three, causing Nise and Yukiko to begin sweating nervously.

"Er, have you been riding out on your scooter lately? I hear that there's a good action movie playing over at 30 Frame. Maybe you should relax by going over there!" Nise suggested, flashing a smile as they exited the classroom and into the hallway. Right as the words "scooter" left Nise's lips, Hitomi froze in fear- all the blood quickly draining from her face.

"N… Narukami-chan?" Nise stuttered, as he and Yukiko stood behind Hitomi.

"Hi-chan?" Yukiko squeaked, worry playing from her voice. "Hitomi!"

Having heard her name, Hitomi snapped back to reality and gasped, looking forward to where she saw students passing by with concerned looks towards Hitomi. Hitomi blushed a bit in embarrassment as she began to continue walking, dragging her feet.

"S-Sorry, did you say something…?" Hitomi asked her friends who were walking behind her in a matching pace.

"Hey- seriously… Are you alright? You're really out of it- try and relax. It's just us" Nise suggested, his eyes glazed with concern for his friend.

"Erm… Yeah…" Hitomi sighed, looking forward towards the stairway. "Sorry, I… I've been all over the place..."

"Yeah, I can see that" Nise replied, tying his hands behind his head. "Why don't you head on over to the nurse's office for a mint or something? I hear they're aruomathutic." Hitomi blinked in confusion, quickly trying to find the definition for "aruomathutic".

"I think you meant to say _therapeutic_ " Yukiko chuckled weakly, pointing out Nise's wrong pronunciation. Nise blushed, realizing that he wasn't even close to saying what he wanted to say and that he might have created a new word. Hitomi felt slightly better from Nise's stupidity, the cold feeling in her stomach somewhat disappearing as the three of them- with Hitomi in the back- began to walk down the stairs.

Taking a weak step forward, Hitomi suddenly felt a hand on her back- time suddenly seeming to go in slow motion. Hitomi stared ahead, her eyes gradually widening as she inched closer and closer to the bottom of the stairs. Several screams and names were yelled as Hitomi flew down to certain death. Scared for her life, Hitomi closed her eyes shut, her mind going blank as her heart stopped. But instead of smashing into the cold, hard ground- Hitomi crashed into a warm yet hard surface, comforting arms shortly wrapping around Hitomi's body. Surprised, Hitomi slowly opened her eyes and looked up, her silver orbs meeting the warm eyes covered in worry of Yosuke's. Hitomi felt her eyes widen slightly as her heat began to pound in her ears, making her forget that she was wrapped in Yosuke's arms.  
"Hi-chan!" Yukiko cried as she dropped to her knees besides Yosuke and Hitomi. "Are you alright?!"

"Who the hell just did that?" Yosuke asked in a rather threatening growl, glancing up at Nise who was still standing on the stairs. Several bystanders gathered around Nise, those who knew Yosuke became surprised by the level of seriousness and anger he was expressing in his face alone.

"It was a girl- a first year I think. She came up the stairs right as we walked out of our classroom" Nise replied, his eyes narrowing in both anger and frustration. How could he let Hitomi nearly die like that? Of course, he didn't know that something like that would eve happen, but nise should have had faster reflexes to protect her. Yosuke and Yukiko exchanged glances, mentally nodding to each other. This is where things cross the line.

"Hey, somethin' happen up here?" a familiar voice asked. Yosuke, Yukiko, and Nise- who began to make his way to the bottom of the stairs- looked over to the remaining steps and saw Ryo and Kanji walk up the stairs.

"I heard screaming earlier..." Ryo began, his words quickly trailing off as he and Kanji saw the positioning that Yosuke and Hitomi was in as well as the expression on Yosuke's face. Kanji, knowing about the current situation, looked away while gritting his teeth.

Yosuke sighed softly, calming himself down, as he looked down at Hitomi- their eyes locking. Almost in that instant, time seemed to stop for only a moment, their eyes lost in the hidden emotions. But Yosuke broke this moment, realizing the positioning that he and Hitomi were in.

Yosuke blushed as he gently and carefully removed himself from Hitomi, setting her upright so that she was standing on her knees.

"S-Sorry… You okay?" Yosuke asked softly, not wanting to break Hitomi who continued to stare at yosuke with wide eyes. The color suddenly drained from Hitomi's face as her eyes widened in fear, making her look almost like a deer in the headlights. Realizing that she was being touched, Narukami shook her body away from Yosuke, stood up, and ran down the stairs and out to the outdoor hallway which loner students loved to eat at during lunch.

"Narukami-chan!" Nise and Yosuke called out, worried for their friend. Yukiko grabbed both of them by the wrist, before they tried to go after Hitomi, and shook her head. The two boys, as well as Ryo and Kanji, looked down the stairs that Hitomi had ran and felt something in them hurt. For Ryo and Nise, they were confused as to why everything was happening- and to their poor companion. Then there was the remaining three who were hurt for not being able to keep Hitomi safe and putting an end to the bullying sooner...

* * *

 _Sunday, July 17th_ | _Afternoon..._

Earlier this morning, shortly after Hitomi had woken up, Kou had called her and asked if she would like to study with her and Chou later today for the upcoming finals. At first, Hitomi was hesitant, fear having a strong grip on her heart after the events that occurred yesterday. Hitomi felt like she wasn't ready to socialize with other people once again after all that had happened for the past five days. But, for some reason, the sound of Kou's energetic and cute voice seemed to have comforted Hitomi. It seemed like any of her friends were able to calm her down. This gave Hitomi a bit of confidence and she managed to get out of bed and decide to go study with her two active friends.

When the agreed time came around, the trio met up at the Junes Food court, all dressed in casual clothes. Kou was wearing a simple yet cute blue and white collared shirt with a matching blue skirt, black leggings, and a pair of white pumps. Chou was wearing practically the same thing when the two bumped into each other way back in April with the athletic attire. Tight black shorts and running shoes- but instead of a white v-neck shirt, she was wearing a white tank top instead. Seeing the two with smiles on their faces really helped Hitomi slowly return to her usual self. Although, despite sitting next to Kou, she was still anxious and constantly glanced around the area.

"Check this out, Hitomi-chan…" Kou began as she pulled out her notebooks and setting them on the table, holding one blue notebook in her hand. "I borrowed Chou's notes for those days I was absent, okay? Here's the one she gave me, and right across the top, it says 'Aglebra 1'... How long has it been since we _passed_ Algebra 1? And learn how to spell!" Chou let out a sigh as she blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Hey, don't borrow notes if you're gonna complain about 'em" Chou huffed.

"Fine, next time I'll know better..." Kou sighed. "I'm ready for the tests in every subject _except_ math…" Hitomi blinked, rather impressed that there was a friend of her's- besides from Yukiko and possibly Kanji- that actually seemed to study.

Kou looked over to Hitomi with weak and pleading eyes and asked, "...You any good at math, Hitomi-chan?"

"I have good and bad days…" Hitomi began, looking down at her math notebook. "But I could be allergic to it."

"You are too!? Maybe we were separated at birth!" Kou exclaimed, sounding surprised. Hitomi looked up and blink, a drop of sweat rolling down her jaw. She actually only said that to try and be funny… But it seems like Kou had taken it seriously.

Kou quickly shuffled around in her bag and pulled out a book that read "Poly-land" and handed it to Hitomi, explaining, "Here, you can have this, then. Hopefully it'll help you…" Hitomi blinked nervously at the book that was now in her hands, feeling rather grateful but also a bit guilty.

"Forget math. I need _major_ help with world history, physics, English…" Chou sighed, resting her head on the palm of her hand.

"You're hopeless, Chou" Kou commented blankly as she and Hitomi stared at Chou who was still muttering the classes she needed help with. It wasn't any surprise that the only class she didn't mention needing help on was P.E.

"Whoa, hey you guys!" a familiar voice called out, causing Kou to blush and smile as she looked over. Chou however frowned, looking rather upset, while Hitomi flinched- standing up in surprise. Chou and Kou looked over at Hitomi in surprise, seeing this nervous side of Hitomi for the first time. The duo had been so busy with the upcoming exams and other stuff that they haven't actually been hearing the rumor going around about Hitomi being bullied.

"Still jumpy are ya? It's just me, Narukami-chan" the voice spoke, a bit gently this time. Hitomi blinked in surprise, recognising it and turned around, seeing Nise and Yukiko in their casual clothes right behind her.

"O-Oh… Hello, Nise-kun. Yukiko-chan" Hitomi greeted, relaxing a bit as she sat back down.

"Are you all going to study?" Nise asked, blinking in surprise once he noticed the jumble of notebooks scattered on the table.

"Think we can tag along?" Yukiko quickly asked, walking over to Hitomi.

"Huh? But aren't you all caught up, Yukiko?" Nise asked, blinking in surprise at Yukiko's words and actions.

"A little bit of studying won't hurt anybody. We can join you, right?" Yukiko smiled as she sat down besides Hitomi.

"F-For sure! The more the merrier!" Kou replied, her eyes still on Nise instead of Yukiko. Hitomi felt a bead of sweat roll down her jaw as she glanced back in forth between Yukiko and Kou who were unaware that they shared the same feelings towards Nise.

"Thanks!" Nise thanked, flashing a smile.

"S-Sure, n-no problem…!" Kou giggled, her blush growing. Nise sat over next to Chou since there was no more room on the bench Hitomi, Yukiko, and Kou were sitting. Chou groaned as she moved up, clearly not happy about having Nise in the group. Nise raised a cocky brow at Chou, before looking down at the notebooks.

"Whoa, hold up! Is that _your_ math notebook?" Nise asked as he pointed at the math notebook in front of Kou. "...You misspelled Algebra." Kou blinked in confusion and looked down. She then gasped, realizing that it was _Chou's_ notebook.

"N-No, it's not like that, this is…!" Kou began, but Nise stopped her by rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't worry, I'll just ask Narukami-chan to explain things to me" Nise chuckled weakly.

"Yeah, me too" Chou added with a cocky grin, as if enjoying sweet revenge.

"H-Hey, wait just a minute here!" Kou squeaked, her eyes watering.

* * *

"In the end, we got nothing done…" Nise and Chou sighed at the same time, resting their heads on the table. A good two hours have past, and barely any progress of improvement has been made. Nise began to wonder if he really was stupid or if studying with other people like this just distracted him.

"Looks like we're all doomed to fail…" Kou whimpered, for she too couldn't get much work done. Kou looked over to Hitomi and Yukiko, a drop of sweat rolling down her jaw as she added, "Except for these two."

"Haha, that's true...! They're like the female versions of Albert Einstein!" Nise laughed weakly, wishing he had a fragment of their brains.

"Who?" Chou asked with an exhausted tone. Hitomi and Kou looked at Chou in slight exhaustion.

"Dear God, Chou- you're beyond our help" Kou sighed, wondering how Chou managed to pass elementary school. Nise couldn't help but chuckle, thinking what Kou had said was rather funny. Chou simply huffed, not having enough mental energy to argue. Hitomi felt herself calm down as she looked over at Yukiko who was smiling at the duo in front of her. In the corner of her eye. Hitomi noticed that three girls casual biking towards Junes, their eyes covered with sunglasses and their hair tied up in buns. Hitomi felt her heart stop at the trio, her blood running cold in her body.

"Narukami-chan? Is something wrong? You look pretty pale…" Nise suddenly pointed out, causing the others to look at Hitomi.

"Hey, Nise-kun's right…! Are you getting sick?" Kou asked, blinking in surprise and concern. Hitomi didn't hear her friends as she continued to stare at the bike trio who were about 40-30 feet away from the food court. When the three girls noticed Hitomi, one of the girls- who seemed to be the leader- smirked. Hitomi suddenly jumped to her feet and dashed off, the opposite direction of the bike trio.

"Hi-chan!" Yukiko called out, standing up.

"Wait, hold up! What's going on?!" Chou, Kou, and Nise asked at the same time as Yukiko ran after Hitomi.

* * *

Yosuke Hanamura and Kanji Tatsumi, two boys who have no blood connection with each other in any way, shape, or form; never would have imagined to meet up and run inside the hospital for the exact same reason. Forty minutes ago, these two young men received a text from their friend Nise Satonaka urging them to rush to the hospital for their friend, Hitomi Narukami was involved in an accident. The two stopped everything and ran to the local hospital, the two bumping into each other at the entrance.

"Yosuke, Kanji! Over here!" Nise called out, catching his friends attention. Nise was standing in front of the ER, where Hitomi was being held. Yosuke and Kanji ran over, both covered in sweat.

"Hey, i-is she alright?!" Yosuke asked, panting.

"She's still in there" Nise muttered, looking down at his feet.

"Shit…!" Kanji growled, looking away. Yosuke felt his heart beat rapidly from the adrenaline and fear of losing Hitomi, sweat continuing to fall from his face. Looking away from Nise, Yosuke noticed Yukiko scolding two girls who were sitting on the ground with their heads down.

"Who are these two?" Yosuke asked, catching Kanji and Nise's attention. Nise looked over his shoulder and felt a bead of sweat roll down his jaw, surprised that Yukiko was still scolding the duo.

"They seem to be friends with that girl who also got hurt with Narukami-chan. She was escorted to a different room a while ago" Nise explained. "For some reason, Yukiko won't let them go. She's been scolding at them like a madwomen for the past 30 minutes." Yosuke and Kanji flinched, instantly knowing the reason behind Yukiko's words.

"So they're the ones?" Yosuke growled, feeling anger growing inside of him. "I should have known that they'd be girls- it makes sense now." Nise looked over at Yosuke and blinked in confusion, unsure as to what he meant.

"H-Hey! I came as soon as I could! I-Is Hitomi-senpai okay?!" a familiar voice asked, panting. Yosuke, Kanji, and Nise all looked over and saw Ryo running towards them with a worried expression.

"Ryo… Perfect timing" Yosuke muttered as Ryo stopped right in front of the trio.

"Huh?" Ryo panted, confused as to why Yosuke seemed so upset at him.

"What's going on, Yosuke?" Nise asked in a suspicious way. "...You know something, don't you?"

Yosuke looked over to Kanji, wanting to make sure that now was a good time to say it. Kanji nodded, thinking it was about time.

With a short sigh, Yosuke looked at Ryo and slowly replied, "...Narukami has been the victim of bullying for the past week."

"Wha-" Ryo gasped, taking a step back in shock.

"Bullying?!" Nise practically shouted. "If you knew, why didn't you tell us, Yosuke?!"

"Actually, Yukiko-senpai and myself knew. It's only the _two_ of you who we didn't tell" Kanji pointed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What?!" Nise exclaimed, outraged that he was one of the last people to be informed of the news.

"I didn't tell _you_ Nise, because you would have made the situation worse by confronting the bullies about it. And, you, Ryo..." Yosuke began to explain, slowly returning his attention to Ryo. "...I didn't tell _you_ , because it was _your_ fault that all of this happened in the _first place_."

"W-What…?" Ryo stuttered, sweat beginning to roll down his face as his blood went cold.

"Those girls that Yukiko are yellin' at and the leader of them are hardcore fans of yours. Word got around that you publically announced that you basically preferred Narukami over any girl in the school" Yosuke explained, crossing his arms over his chest. This was the last bit of information that Yosuke, Kanji, and Yukiko managed to get yesterday after school. However, they still couldn't point at the gender- until this whole mess occurred.

"That…" Ryo began, his breathing hitched. "I-I never said that…! At least, not to _those_ girls…!"

"I don't care who you told it to! That doesn't change the fact that it's because of you Narukami got into this mess!" Yosuke snapped back, causing Ryo to take a step back. The furious look in Yosuke's eyes were almost as powerful as a gun aimed at Ryo's head- the finger on the trigger. Ryo blinked rapidly in fear, looking ready to cry.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream erupted from the ER, catching everyone's attention.

"W-What was that?!" Yukiko asked, caught extremely off guard.

"Narukami?!" Yosuke gasped, immediately recognizing the scream. Before any of them could move, seven nurses and six doctors rushed towards the ER, all shouting orders as some nurse's pushed carts.

"Please make way, stand away from the doors!" a nurse demanded in a fierce voice. The gang were then pushed aside as the large medical group ran inside the ER.

"Hey!" Yosuke exclaimed, grabbing a nurse by the arm. "Miss, what happened?!" The nurse pulled her arm out of Yosuke's grip and rushed into the room, closing the doors behind her.

The group became quiet as the group stared blankly at the ER doors, the continuous screams of their friend continue to ring in their ears. All they could do now, is wait…

* * *

"Damnit, how long does it take for one girl with seven nurses and doctors to get better…?" Kanji muttered, holding his head in his hands. A long hour had passed since everyone had gathered at the hospital. Thirty minutes ago, some time after Hitomi stopped screaming, the doctor's and nurse's walked out of the ER in complete exhaustion. Some muttered here and there but never answered any of the questions that was thrown at them.

"How did she even get hurt...?" Ryo asked softly, looking over at Nise who was sitting next to Yosuke and Yukiko.

"Face smacked into a street lamp as she… tried to carry the other girl out of the road after she fell off her bike. A truck was coming..." Nise explained, the scene still fresh in his mind. The unconscious body of Hitomi as she laid next to a surprised looking girl, a truck pulled over as he called for an ambulance. Nise closed his eyes and let out a shuddered sigh, unable to bear the mental picture.

"No way…" Yosuke whispered, his hands trembling. Tightly clenching them together, Yosuke lowered his head and closed his eyes in fear. "Narukami…!"

There was a moment of silence, twenty minutes passed, when Yosuke suddenly gasped and looked up. The others looked at him in confusion when suddenly, the ER doors opened and a doctor stepped outside.

"Hm? Well, this is certainly a crowd" the doctor said with a smile, taking notice of the group.

"DOCTOR!" Yosuke, Nise, and Ryo shouted; jumping to their feet and walking towards the doctor.

"Whoa! This is a hospital- please keep it down!" the doctor scolded, startled by the three boys.

"Sorry- but, um, how is Narukami? Hitomi Narukami? Is she okay?" Yosuke asked.

The doctor opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a voice, saying "I'm here!" Everyone looked down the hall and saw Dojima running towards them at top speed, a look of anger and worry sketched on his face.

"Doc- how's my niece? Tell me she's alright!" Dojima panted, joining the three boys who were standing around the doctor.

"First, a little space please" the doctor sighed. Yukiko and Kanji gently pulled their friends away from the doctor in obedience, Dojima taking a step back.

"Now… Dojima-san, your niece is fine. Just a simple scratch with a small cut on her forehead- nothing serious" the doctor began, his attention on Dojima for he was Hitomi's guardian. "But to make sure she was in overall good health, we did some extra tests and found a few things that we thought should be brought to your attention." Yosuke, Nise, and Yukiko gasped softly taking a step forward. Noticing the worried expressions on the teen's faces, the doctor sighed and pushed up his glasses.

"...I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have you all here as well. Her friends, correct?" the doctor asked. All of them nodded in agreement. "Alright, well… Listen close- because I don't want to repeat it again." Yosuke took another step forward, gulping loudly.

"So we did a few tests and found that Narukami-san was... diagnosed with PTSD about five years ago" the doctor explained, looking down at the ground. Dojima and Ryo flinched in surprise, understanding the term.

"PTSD?" Nise and Kanji repeated, unfamiliar with it.

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder… It's a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress after an injury or severe psychological shock..." Ryo explained softly, looking at his friends.

"Wait, so you're saying… Hi-chan was in an accident or something five years ago?" Yukiko asked, surprised.

"That's what the papers from her previous doctors say. Although, we can assume that it must have been an accident due to her right eye" the doctor pointed out. Dojima flinched once again, this time knowing of what the accident was, and looked away.

"What's wrong with her right eye?" Kanji asked.

"It's been severely damaged- creating a strange phenomenon that caused her hair and eye color to change to silver" the doctor explained, raising his clipboard and shifting through the paperwork.

"Wait, are you serious? How does that work?" Nise asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're not sure- it's extremely bizarre" the doctor replied bluntly. "But, beside from that, it also erased all vision on her right side. It moves and functions like a normal eye, but the nerves have been damaged and can't actually _see_. It's really the first time anything like this had happened."

"No way..." the group muttered at the same time.

"Hey, earlier- when all those nurses and doctors came- was it because of her eye or something? We heard her scream..." Ryo recalled, his heart sinking as he heard it once again in his mind.

"Yes- I suggested removing it or cleaning it and that's when she had an outburst. We managed to calm her down, but only after we had gotten rid of anything and everything sharp from the room. There seems to be a story with that as well" the doctor explained. There was a brief moment of silence, the new information wrapping itself around the minds of the young teens.

"Hey, how come Narukami-chan was completely fine before? She seemed as if nothing was wrong with her" Nise asked, breaking the silence.

"She had some medication for a year or two and stayed away from anything that could trigger her PTSD. She's done such a fair job that she managed to take control of it- even without the medication" the doctor explained, flipping through some more paperwork.

Suddenly, the doors to the ER opened, catching everyone's attention.

"Oh" Hitomi muttered, blinking in surprise as she stared at the doctor and her friends. "Everyone's here it seem." Dojima walked around the doctor towards Hitomi, noticing the rather large bandage on the right side of Hitomi's temple.

"Huh? Even Dojima?" Hitomi exclaimed softly, surprised to see her uncle before her.

"Hitomi, should you really be moving around?" Dojima asked gently, sounding relieved and yet worried.

"Yes, it's alright. She's fine. She recovered long enough in the room to the point where she's back to her usual self" the doctor reassured with a matching smile. "Now, Dojima-san, if you would..." Dojima looked over at the doctor, who extended his arm out for Dojima to follow. Glancing back over to Hitomi, Dojima sighed and and followed the doctor, leaving the teens to themselves.

"Narukami-chan..." Yosuke muttered, catching Hitomi's attention. Hitomi blinked, noticing the worried look in Yosuke's eyes.

"I'm sorry. I hope I didn't worry you guys _too_ much" Hitomi apologized, locking eyes with the others. They let out a soft sigh as smiles stretched their lips, glad that Hitomi was alright.

"I'm a bit baffled, though… How did I get theses injuries and ended up here?" Hitomi mused as she touched her left temple, gently caressing her bandage.

"Y-You mean you don't remember?" Yukiko and Nise asked at the same time.

"Well… I remember you guys joining Kou-chan, Chou-chan, and myself in our little studying session and we couldn't get anything done..." Hitomi hummed, tilting her head a little as she thought about it. "I blacked out for a while, though. When I 'woke up', there was this girl on the ground in the middle of the road. This truck was coming and..."

"And so you decided to nearly get yourself killed by trying to save her?!" Yosuke huffed, a bit upset that Hitomi had unconsciously helped the enemy.

Hitomi blinked in surprise at Yosuke's question and replied with, "Uhm… That's one way to put it." Yosuke let out a long sigh as he ran his hands through his hair. It had been a rather exhausting week…

"Hey" a husky yet feminine voice huffed, catching everyone's attention. A girl with short black hair tied in a bun approached Hitomi, pushing Yosuke out of the way so that she could be standing face to face with Hitomi. Yosuke felt a vein pop by this, a feeling in his gut telling him that this was the girl that had been bullying Hitomi.

"Oh. I'm glad to see that you're not hurt..." Hitomi greeted, sounding relieved.

"...What's wrong with you? Were you dropped at birth or something?" the girl growled, sounding annoyed.

"H-Huh?" Hitomi stuttered, blinking in surprise.

"Hey, you watch your mouth-!" Kanji growled, a vein popping like it had for Yosuke.

"I've been bullying you and treating you like _shit_ and yet you _still_ decide to save my life?!" the girl barked.

Hitomi blinked in surprise, her eyes widening slightly. "Y-You… You were bullying me?"

The girl huffed and looked over to Yosuke, replying, "Yeah. But thanks to your little servants here, I guess you haven't really been noticing it." Yosuke shot a glare to the girl, causing her to huff in annoyance.

"...But why? If I had done something wrong, why didn't you just confront me?" Hitomi asked, tilting her head.

"That's because Hime was jealous!" the two girls, who had been too scared of Yukiko to run away, explained at the same time. Hitomi looked over and blinked in surprise, confused as to why there were two girls on the ground and wondered how long they've been there.

"Hey, you two- shut up!" the girl, Hime, snapped. The two other girls obediently did so.

"Jealous? Of what?" Hitomi asked.

"You even gotta ask? Of _you_!" Hime snapped, growing tired at Hitomi's obliviousness. "First Ryouta-sama just ups and says to these _commoners_ that you're the best girl in the world, then your friends start protecting you, and even though I nearly got you killed- you saved me!" Yosuke, Kanji, and Yukiko felt their faces drop in annoyance; unable to believe what Hime was saying.

"I spent years trying to get Ryouta-sama's attention..." Hime continued, looking away. "I… I was jealous that you managed to waltz right on in here and he immediately picks you out of everyone. And I worked so hard too..."

Yukiko huffed in annoyance and barked, "What a horrible reason to do all the things that you have!"

"Seriously. Act your age, idiot!" Kanji agreed. Hime blushed slightly in shame, not making eye contact with anyone. Hitomi stared at Ohim for a moment as Kanji and Yukiko began to lecture Hime about the serious consequences of bullying to such an extreme level.

"Calm down you guys" Hitomi finally spoke, grabbing Hime's hands in her own; catching Hime's attention. "It's alright. You just wanted to get noticed by your idol. It's alright..."

"HUH?!" everyone, except for Hime, exclaimed. No one could believe their eyes at the kindness Hitomi was expressing- the genuine forgiveness she was expressing.

"I mean, sure… I would have preferred a much more civil approach to the matter, but all that matters is that you and your friends didn't get hurt" Hitomi added, glancing away for a minute before locking eyes with Hime once again. "As for Ryo-kun: just talk to him. He's a nice guy and loves talking with other people- but he's a bit blind to those who try to get his attention from a distances."

Hime stared at Hitomi with wide eyes, completely taken by surprise by her kindness. Never before had someone so quickly and so genuinely forgiven someone as cruel as Hime. Feeling herself blush, Ohime 'hmph'ed as she removed her hands from Hitomi's grasp.

"Come on you two- let's get out of here" Hime huffed as she marched down the hall, ready to leave. The two girls jumped up to their feet and obediently followed Hime, wanting to leave as well so that they wouldn't have to look back at Yukiko.

"Hey you! Aren't ya gonna thank Narukami-chan?! Out of everything you did to her, she saved your life and even forgiven you!" Yosuke shouted, upset by Hime's rudeness. Hitomi blinked nervously as she tried to calm Yosuke down, muttering that it was unnecessary.

Hime stopped in her tracks, and without looking back, muttered, "...Sorry. And thanks."

Hitomi, having heard Hime, shook her head and replied, "Not at all. I wish you luck on becoming friends with Ryo-kun." Hime flinched in surprise before continuing on her way, leaving the hospital. The group watched Hime and her friend leave the hospital before looking over to Hitomi.

"Narukami-senpai… You are too nice for your own good" Kanji sighed in exhaustion, stunned by what he had just witnessed.

"Tell me about it… I'm exhausted" Nise and Yukiko sighed, just as exhausted. Hitomi looked over to them and stared for a minute, feeling a warm and a wave of gratitude washing over her.

"...Thanks you guys" Hitomi muttered, shyly, looking down. "I've never had such friends who would go through so much just for my sake…" The other looked at Hitomi in surprise before smiling, Nise and Yukiko chuckling.

"Aw, you're so cute!" Yukiko complimented as she spread her arms and gave Hitomi a warm hug. Hitomi blinked in surprise as the corner of her lips twitch, her arms wrapping around Yukiko's body as well.

"Haha, think nothing of it!" Nise laughed, finding the scene surprisingly comforting.

"Yeah! It's what we do, man" Kanji said as he flashed a grin.

"You're very important to all of us- we couldn't just stand to the side and do nothing" Yosuke explained warmly, his entire expression kind and gentle.

"...Hey, where's Ryo-kun? I thought I saw him earlier" Hitomi asked as Yukiko removed herself from Hitomi. The other's blinked in surprise and looked around, now noticing Ryo's absence.

"That's weird- he was here earlier when we were talking with your doctor" Nise mused, looking around. Hitomi thought for a moment, wondering where Ryo would have gone...  
"...Why don't you guys go and head on home? I'll look for Ryo-kun" Hitomi suggested. The guys felt somewhat hesitant to let Hitomi do things by herself in the state she was in, but Kanji and Nise were soon pushed along by Yukiko; telling them they should probably find Dojima and let him know that Hitomi would head home by herself. Yosuke, however, stayed behind as he stared at Hitomi with a pained heart. As Hitomi hummed and turned around, seeming to have come up with a location, Yosuke reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist.

"Hey..." Yosuke began, his eyes soft with worry as Hitomi turned around in surprise. "...Be careful, okay? Call me and let me know if something happens..." Hitomi stared at Yosuke in surprise, a soft pink tinging her cheeks.

"O-Okay… I will" Hitomi replied, a bit embarrassed by the feeling in her chest that started to beat when Yosuke grabbed her wrist. Yosuke smiled gently, slowly letting go of Hitomi's wrist and turning around to join the others.

Meanwhile, somewhere out in the Samegawa Plains, Ryo laid on the grass where he and Hitomi had spent time together before he was thrown into the T.V world. Shortly after seeing Hitomi, Ryo couldn't keep himself together- tears silently falling from his eyes. Embarrassed and ashamed, Ryo looked the other way and silently ran off. He didn't know where at the time, he just needed to go. By the time his legs grew tired, Ryo found himself here at Samegawa.

 _It's all my fault… How could I have done such a thing? There's no way that she'll talk to me again…_ Ryo thought as he sighed, lost in the blue color of the sky. Tears started to fall once again from Ryo's eyes as his lips trembled, trying desperately to not let out a sob. It hurt Ryo so much that he had lost a friend- and one who tried so hard to help him realize that there was more to him than just one personality. To keep him _alive_.

 _I can't believe it would hurt this much…_ Ryo thought as his breathing hitched, unable to keep in his tears anymore. Covering his eyes with his arm, Ryo let out a strangled sob.

"I'm sorry, Hitomi…!" Ryo sobbed.

"There's no need to apologise" a voice reassured, causing Ryo to gasp in surprise. Slowly removing his arm from his eyes, Ryo looked up and saw Hitomi sitting away from him at the top of the hill.

"H-Hitomi-senpai…?!" Ryo stammered, extremely embarrassed. "H-how did you…?!"

"I just had a feeling" Hitomi replied simply.

Ryo blinked in surprise by Hitomi's words before looking up at the sky. "...I-"

"Thank you" Hitomi interrupted.

"H-Huh…?" Ryo stuttered looking up at Hitomi's back.

"I told the other's this in the hospital… But, I've never had a group of friends before who would go through so much for my sake" Hitomi explained. Ryo blinked in surprise before looking back up at the sky with sad eyes.

"...I don't deserve your gratitude. It's all my fault that this happened to you and I didn't even do anything to help…! I'm a horrible friend" Ryo muttered, tears prickling his eyes.

"That's not true" Hitomi began, a warm feeling washing over her. "From the sound of your voice… You're crying, aren't you?" Ryo flinched in embarrassment, glancing upward as a breeze blew over them. "The fact that you're crying for me… It tells me that you care. And, honestly, that's all I need." There was a moment of peaceful silence between the as the gentle breeze blew over the two, calming them.

Hitomi felt the corner of her lips twitch as she heard Ryo try to take in a steady breath. "Come on. Let's head home, Ryo-kun."

Ryo stared at the sky with wide eyes as more tears fell. He was completely caught off guard by Hitomi's kindness.

 _How…? How could such a kind and forgiving girl exist?_ Ryo wondered. He felt his heat steadily begin to skip beats, blushing as he placed a hand over his heart. The feeling in his chest was familiar to Ryo. It was just like when he first heard his first love sing. Ryo's hand twitched and tightened, as if trying to confirm the feeling. Suddenly, a light and yet heavy weight fell on top of Ryo, causing him to wheeze as he sat up, supporting whatever fell on him to sit up as well

"Ow..." Hitomi groaned, causing Ryo to blush as his heartbeat started to beat loud enough to be heard in his eardrums.

Hitomi looked shyly over to Ryo and rubbed the back of her neck, her dusted with just a tinge of pink from their positioning. "S-Sorry about that… But I guess this proves my point, huh?" Ryo blinked once in confusion, causing Hitomi to explain: "I can't fall on you unless you're sitting or lying on the ground."

That's when Ryo knew. The feeling in his chest… The pounding from his heart…

He was falling in love.

He is falling in love with Hitomi Narukami- the only girl he has ever known to be so kind, so forgiving, so unique, so beautiful, and do so much for the sake of others. Ryo smiled and gently wrapped Hitomi into his arms, hugging her close to him.

"It's actually the opposite" Ryo sighed as fresh tears formed and fell. " _I'm_ … the one who fell for you"

Hitomi blinked a few times in surprise, her heart skipping a few beats as she said, "Huh? Um, but, I'm on top of you not the other way around..." Ryo chuckled softly at the obliviousness of the girl in his arms, ignoring the fact that she might have just ruined the moment. Hitomi blinked a few times before giving in and closing her eyes, finding the warmth of Ryo's body comforting.

After a moment of silence, Ryo opened his eyes again slowly. He was able to tell and had figured it out a while ago… Ryo knew that he wasn't the only one after Hitomi's heart. There were two other people, but one of them being a real threat- even if they hadn't realized it yet...

Yosuke Hanamura.


	19. The Culprit

A/N: Ah, sorry for taking so long! I've been wrapped up in some musical stuff! ; v ; But, anyways! The long awaited chapter is here! I rushed through it a little bit to publish it before passing out, so I hope no one minds if it is lacking certain detail that I would have normally put in there ~

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Saturday, July 23_ | _After school..._

A week had passed since my little drama show of being unknowingly bullied. I had felt my bond with the others grow deeper, our relationship of being simple friends had gone to being close friends and comrades. I was rather emotional for quite a bit that Sunday evening after receiving a call from Kou and Chou, who had found out about my bullying. They had apologized about not knowing about it before and not being of more help to me. Of course, I didn't hold it against them since I was aware of it either. Hearing them apologize brought me great happiness, for it proved that they cared...

But, alas, the feeling didn't last for long. With all that had happened during the few days prior, I hadn't been focusing on my studying. And with finals beginning the next day, I was put under a lot of pressure. Thankfully, Yukiko was able to take pictures of her notes which had helped a lot. She even color-coded them, which was surprisingly helpful. It motivated me to do the same after I had reviewed.

With only an hour of sleep, the first day of the finals came around. My pen seemed to have moved all on it's own while the other's even Yukiko, seemed to have trouble. As the days went by, Hanamura and Nise seemed to have struggled the most like during midterms. However, by some miracle, Yosuke managed to stay the final day instead of leaving.

Now, the tests were over and everyone seemed much more relaxed. The room was buzzing with excitement for the soon to come summer vacation as students left the classroom or packed their bag to head home for the day. Yukiko and Nise were reviewing their answers once again, Yosuke standing by my side with a dazed look.

"Finals are over at last…! It's allll over!" Hanamura groaned, rubbing his eyes. He suddenly yawned, leaving his mouth agape as he did so. "I'm sooo sleepy…"

"You haven't been getting much sleep?" I asked, concerned. Hanamura made a face that told me he had been sleeping well as usual- tests just make him tired.

"Yo! Don't yawn in our faces like that!" Nise snapped, flicking his hand in a dismissive manner. Hanamura clicked his tongue as he turned around and yawned once again.

Nise looked back at Yukiko and asked, "So hey, for the third question on the English test, which phrase did you choose?"

Yukiko thought for a moment, humming, before replying, "Um… I went with 'used to.'"

"Wrong again…?!" Nise sobbed in surprise, resting his head on his desk in defeat. I patted his back in sympathy.

"So much for Nise going abroad. Heck, why leave Inaba? You have so much right here!" Hanamura suggested with a teasing grin.

"Shut up, shithead" Nise snapped, gritting his teeth in an intimidating manner. I blinked in surprise by the information.

"You wanted to study abroad, Nise-kun?" I asked, surprised. This was the first I had heard of it… What did Nise even want to study? Let alone where he _would_ study.

Nise looked up at me for a moment then looked away in slight confusion, muttering "Not exactly..." I blinked and tilted my head in confusion, wondering why he gave such a reply.

"Yo..." I heard a familiar voice sigh. Looking over my shoulder and saw Kanji and Ryo walk towards us with their heads down.

"No more encores…" Ryo sighed as he and Kanji stopped besides Hanamura. He lifted his head and blinked in surprise when our eyes locked. "I mean… Hi everyone!"

"Whoa, more losers!?" Hanamura exclaimed in a surprised and yet teasing manner. Ryo seemed to have taken Hanamura's tone of voice insulting as he gave him a look.

"What do I need to know English for!? I can always ask for a translator! And you can always have your computer auto-correct stuff" Ryo huffed, showing clear signs of annoyance.

"Maybe if _someone_ didn't leave their classmate last week, they _might_ have done a little better..." Kanji huffed, sounding upset. I looked at him and blinked, something tickling in my throat. I suppose he is still upset about the fact that Ryo had left Kanji while he was passed out.

"You're _still_ upset about that?" Hanamura asked, a bead of sweat rolling down his jaw.

"Hey, Hitomi-senpai! How do you think you did?" Ryo suddenly asked, changing the subject. Looking over at him, I blinked in surprise upon noticing the wide smile stretching his lips.

"I did some intense studying Sunday night with Yukiko-chan's notes" I began. "Thanks to that, it seemed like my pen was moving all on it's own."

"Wow, very impressive!" Ryo chirped, sounding genuinely impressed.

"Enough about the exams already…" Kanji sighed in boredom and exhaustion, grabbing our attention. "What's going on with the murder case?" Hanamura hummed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hm… Why don't we head to our special headquarters? We haven't been there in a while" Hanamura suggested, glancing around at the exhausted students who were still around. We all nodded in agreement and decided to walk together to Junes.

* * *

When we arrived at Junes, Kanji immediately suggested that we get something to refresh ourselves. No one opposed the offer and we all bought something. A majority of us got something to drink, mostly water, fruit milk, and soda. Once everyone had drank and felt re-energized, we sat down at the long wooden bench table where we usually sat when it rained. With so many of us now, it would be difficult to sit in a small round table.

"Oh, I just remembered. There was a question on the exam that I didn't get" Ryo began as he swallowed, looking over at me. "I think it was, 'The chemical formula HCHO, used for silver mirror reactions. Its 40% solution is known as formalin.' And the question was, 'What is HCHO?'"

"Hm?" I blinked. "That's formaldehyde."

"Oh, I see. I chose acetic acid…" Ryo hummed. He chuckled and gently hit himself upside the head, sticking out his tongue. "Duh, of course it couldn't have been vinegar."

Ryo looked over at Kanji and smiled, asking, "Hey, you had that question too, didn't you Kanji?"

"Shut up. And don't call me by my first name" Kanji huffed, glaring at Ryo.

"Wow, kinda harsh, aren't you?" Ryo teased with a smile. "You know, I heard you got a nosebleed when you were around our senpai. Such a _pervert_." I felt my face heat up as Kanji blushed looking over at us with embarrassed eyes.

"H-Hey! Who the _hell_ blabbed about that!?" Kanji snapped.

"A-Anyways! Ryo, why didn't you ask me to help you study?" Nise chuckled nervously, quickly changing the subject. Ryo looked at Nise and blinked with a slightly surprised expression.

"Huh? I guess, but wouldn't you rather ask a senpai of the opposite sex?" Ryo asked. He then looked over at me and pouted.

"Hitomi-senpai… I'm not a nuisance to you, am I?" Ryo asked.

"H-Huh?" I stuttered, feeling my heart beginning to race by the rather cute, pouted expression on his face.

"The next time I need help studying, can I ask you to help me? I seem to work better when it's nice and quiet with just me and another person. You don't mind, right?" Ryo asked with a shy smile, before pouting once again. "...Or am I too annoying?"

"Y-You're not annoying at all! I'll gladly help you!" I replied nervously, my face growing hotter. Ryo smiled brightly in victory, looking almost like a dog wagging his tail. I felt my face slowly begin to cool down as sweat began rolling down my face. Ryo is… rather sneaky...

"Damn… This dude's dangerous...!" I heard Nise mutter in slight annoyance.

"By the way, where's Berry?" Yukiko suddenly asked as I placed a hand over my heart, trying to calm down.

"Oh yeah, where is she? I thought she was living over at your place, Yosuke" Nise began. He then narrowed his eyes threateningly and asked, "You haven't done anything to her yet, _right_?"

"Why the _hell_ would I do that?" Hanamura sighed in annoyance, clicking his tongue. "Would you please stop making it sound like I'm going to do something?!" Hanamura sighed, about to say something else when he suddenly blinked in realization. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it to you. Check this out" Hanamura began, pointing in the direction behind Nise, to which we all turned around and saw Berry in her bear costume once again, passing out balloons to children. "In return for staying over at my place, my mom got her to become our store's official mascot to earn her keep."

"Aaah! So she's hiding in plain sight. Reverse psychology, huh? Man… She looks like one happy bear…" Kanji chuckled, seeming pleased.

"She kept saying that she didn't wanna go back, so I made her a deal" Hanamura explained.

"As cute as ever" I commented, glad that Berry gets to stay over on this side. Berry suddenly noticed the lot of us staring at her and smiled widely, handing the remaining balloons quickly to the a child and skipped her way over to us. The children seemed a bit disappointed to see their Ms. Bear leave them liked that.

"What's up guys? If you're hunting studs again, I'm right here~!" Berry giggled, winking at Nise, Kanji, and Ryo, causing the trio to freeze. Yukiko sighed in embarrassment and annoyance, earning a dry chuckle from Nise.

"Sorry Berry, but none of us here are some easy numbers you can pick. Just because we have more sausages than flowers" Hanamura sighed in slight disappointment catching my attention. I couldn't help but blink in confusion, unsure of what Hanamura's words meant. The guys however seemed to have a clear understanding and made expressions of disgust at him.

"Ugh, dude- _shut up_ " Kanji and Ryo huffed in annoyance and disgust.

"Did you really have to try and put _that_ image in our heads?" Nise snapped quietly, his left eyebrow twitching. "You could have _simply_ said that we were on a group date with an extra guy or somethin'... Not that there'd ever be one with _you_ around." Hanamura smiled nervously, scratching his head.

"Yeah, and even if we did try and have one, somehow or another King Moron would find out and start screaming at us" Hanamura agreed with a bead of sweat rolling down his jaw, a weary smile on his face. I felt my heart sink a little at the mention of Morooka's name and I looked down at my hands.

"...But Mr. Morooka is gone" I muttered, causing the once carefree atmosphere to quickly turn cold.

"...He was an ass" Nise commented, stabbing my heart a little at his words.

"I didn't like him much, either..." Yukiko admitted.

"I don't think anybody liked that creep..." Hanamura sighed softly, causing me to wince.

"C-Come on you guys, let's not talk badly of the dead; it's rude" I muttered weakly, placing a hand over my heart. It hurt so much to hear my friends say such things about Morooka. "Even if Mr. Morooka might not have been the kindest of souls, he still didn't deserve to… to go out like _that_."

"Oh, right… sorry about that" Hanamura apologized. There was a moment of silence in the air as everyone looked down in shame for their words and thoughts.

Hanamura suddenly spoke up again, saying, "Alright everyone- we've gotta catch this guy."

"Yeah" I agreed with a nod. "The midnight channel hasn't been airing lately, but we can't quit."

"I really wonder about the culprit's motives… Why was Mr. Morooka targeted?" Nise asked out loud, becoming serious.

"Hope it wasn't personal, 'cause there's way too many people who hated King Moron's guts" Kanji sighed in exhaustion.

"But didn't you all say it's people who get famous on TV who are targeted? If the killer's choosing targets by watching TV, I picture him as someone who doesn't know his victims at all. I don't think it's worth trying to figure out motives for that type. There are too many people who hold grudges against you for no reason, even if you've never met them before" Ryo pointed out, having recently been explained as to what we have all learned so far.

"Haha… You sound like you speak from experience, Ryo. But with King Moron, he didn't appear on the Midnight Channel _or_ the regular TV…" Nise began, humming in thought. There was a brief pause as we waited for him to continue.

"AUGH! I don't get this at all!" Nise shouted, causing Yukiko and me to jump in surprise.

"Man, two victims in a row from our school… That's gotta set off the police's alarm bells. They're not gonna leave any stones at school unturned" Kanji commented, seeming unaffected by Nise's sudden outburst.

"Y'know, to be honest, somewhere deep inside, I thought maybe King Moron was the killer" Hanamura admitted, looking down in shame.

"Whoa, you serious?" Nise and Kanji asked at the same time, both in shock. I wasn't too shocked about his confession, though. In Hanamura's case with his love for Saki Konishi, anyone who talked bad on her would immediately be on his suspect list. My heart sank in sympathy for Hanamura, wishing that we caught the killer soon so that he would be at peace with himself, no longer blaming himself for failing to save Saki...

"...The news says that he was the second victim from Yasogami High, but we all know that's not the case. And I've heard him say more than once that so-and-so deserves to die…" Hanamura explained in a shamed tone.

"Sounds like something that ass would say..." Nise huffed, becoming upset once again. I looked at him and shook my head, causing him to look at me in apology.

"But now… I feel bad that I doubted him. He was a capital-A asshole, but that doesn't justify killing him..." Hanamura sighed, his eyes becoming shiner than usual with tears. I felt my body wanting to get up and embrace him in comfort, the sight of his shamed eyes stabbing my heart. But I held myself back, looking down at my hands. Embracing Hanamura would be too intimate… It would be appear to others of possible romantic emotions to which I do not bare for him and he might get angry with me- having told me that he wasn't ready for any sort of romantic relationship.

"I can't forgive the killer, no matter what...!" Hanamura growled, causing me to look up- just in time to see him wipe away the unfallen tears from his eyes with the back of his wrist.

Nise snapped his fingers in thought and smiled, saying "Well, we'll do what we can, for King Moron's sake too! At this rate, you have to figure that the killer has something to do with the school, right? So why don't we split up and-"

"That won't be necessary" a familiar voice interrupted. I looked up, looking past Kanji, and saw Shirogane standing a few feet from our table.

"Y-You..." Kanji stuttered in slight surprise when he looked over his shoulder. Shirogane shifted her blue cap to reveal her gray blue eyes, adjusting her yellow tie, that rested on top of her light blue shirt, all the while.

"There is no need to further examine the case of Mr. Morooka any further" Shirogane began, resting her arms to her sides. "They know who the culprit is. You're done- let the police do their job from here." I blinked in shock and surprise, my eyes unconsciously widening at so.

"Th-They figured out who the murder is...?! Uh- w-who is it?!" Nise asked in surprise and eagerness.

"They didn't chose to fill me in on that" Shirogane admitted, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. "But what I do know is that he's a high school student- just like we are."

"The killer is… a high school student?" Yukiko gasped, shocked at the news.

"It isn't public knowledge yet, but he isn't a student of your high school. It seems they are quite confident that this boy is the killer… They have testimonies directly linking him with the incident. I expect it's only a matter of time before he is apprehended. Soon, this case will be solved, and your town will once again be its peaceful, rustic self" Shirogane explained simply. I couldn't help but feel a small bead of frustration in my chest, unappreciative of her rather uncaring tone when she said "peaceful, rustic self". It almost sounded as if she was going to become bored when the time comes.

"...So why come tell us? That's confidential info, right? Why run right here and spill it?" Hanamura asked in suspicion. Shirogane said nothing for a moment, just staring at Hanamura with bored eyes. She suddenly then glanced over at me, causing me to blink.

"Your 'game' will soon reach its downfall. I felt I should at least let you know that" Shirogane explained simply, causing me to flinch. A 'game'... A ' _game_ '? When… When was the value of human life considered as simply a 'game?!

"Pardon me…" I began, trying desperately to contain my frustration that had quickly jumped to slight anger by the fool's words. "...But we weren't just playing around. It's not a game to us…!" Shirogane stared at me in slight interest and amusement.

"...So, you don't deny your involvement in this?" Shirogane asked, a small smirk stretching her lips looking as if she had won. I flinched and pressed my lips closed. Darn, I let my emotions get ahead of me… That's the one thing you mustn't do when talking with a detective or officer!

"Look, I don't care if you're a detective or an amateur sleuth… All you're doing is solving mysteries. You're the one treating this like a game, not us!" Ryo snapped as he stood up.

"This 'game' took the life of someone I cared about… She meant a lot to me. How could I possibly treat this like a game? We _aren't_ and was _never_ playing around" Hanamura growled, his hands visibly tightening up into fists. With a small sigh, he looked over his shoulder at Berry and smiled. "And besides… We have a little promise to keep."

"Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo-Yosuke!" Berry stuttered, tears forming at the corner of her cartoonish eyes.

"You think I'm playing, huh?" Shirogane asked, seeming somewhat surprised yet ashamed. "...Maybe to a certain degree, I am."

"Tell me! What's a 'big detective' doing slumming here with us anyways?" Hanamura suddenly asked, turning his attention back at Shirogane. "Did they find the killer without ch'ya and tell you to hit the road? Is our little brat detective _lonely_?"

"Hanamura…!" I muttered sternly. All of us are getting too emotional- we need to calm down before we say anything we might regret. Shirogane smirked for a brief second, causing me to shiver, before adjusting her cap.

"...Detectives normally aren't involved with arrests. And we never harbor any special emotions regarding a case, either" Shirogane explained. "They haven't caught the killer yet. They just know who it is and are after them. Got it?" Shirogane suddenly glanced away, her eyes darkening in sadness. "It's sad that once they're through with me, I have to move on… but that's just the way it goes. I'm used to it." I blinked in surprise by her words, finding them intriguing. Could it be that she has been able to fool the detectives that she is a man but is still being treated lowly for her young age…?

"...Yeah, whatever" Kanji muttered, seeming uninterested as he looked away from Shirogane.

Shirogane stared at Kanji for a moment before nodding and saying, "Well, I must be going now." And with that- Shirogane turned around and left, leaving us with questions.

Once Shirogane was completely gone from our sight of vision, Nise asked, "...So it's really over?"

"I dunno… If what he said is really true, then maybe it is" Hanmura sighed, looking confused.

"Does that mean that there won't be any more gatherings?" Yukiko asked softly. "Our group is finished?" I flinched at Yukiko's words, my heart pounding in pain by her words. If our group is finished… If it ends like this, then… What's going to happen? I believe in my friends and believe that we'll all continue to hang out… But- a small part of me is worried.

I… I don't want to be alone…!

* * *

 _Evening..._

Shortly after talking with Shirogane, everyone all agreed to head home for the night. I was a bit hesitant in doing so, but since it wasn't going to rain, I couldn't suggest to them to watch the Midnight Channel. Not wanting to leave immediately, I decided to stay and shop for dinner. Yosuke went with me, the two of us continuing to discuss about what we had learned about the case. We didn't manage to get anything new out of what we had already learned, but it didn't really bother me. Or Hanamura for that matter. After buying dinner, he walked me to the Dojima residence, insisting that he wanted to make sure I made it there safe.

When I arrived, Nanako rushed to my aid at the sight of the Junes bag and helped me unload the food onto the dining table. After changing into my pajamas, we thanked for the food and began to eat, just as the news program began.

"Tonight, we have a special report" the male reporter began, catching my attention. "The topic is the bizarre serial murder case in Inaba, where the victims' bodies are discovered hanging upside down. Police have yet to announce any progress in the investigation since the discovery of a third victim. Our special report tonight is a summary of the events and the facts in the case thus far…" I stared at the television closely, frowning a bit. There seems to be no new information about the suspect either… Sighing silently, I looked down at my food and poked at it. If only they released information regarding the state of the body or the state of the water vault… I'd be able to get enough evidence to prove that this was a copycat killing. Of course, if I talked with Shirogane, she could probably let me in on the investigation… But despite being a detective, even she isn't informed of all the details. No matter what I do, I'm being forced to wait… I sighed once again, worry filling me.

"They still haven't caught him?" Nanako whimpered softly. I looked up at her in surprise, noticing her hunched over position and scared eyes. Nanako seems to be anxious about the unsolved case...

"Don't worry, Nanako. I'll protect you, so there's no need to be scared" I reassured. Nanako looked over at me and blushed in surprise.

"Okay. You promise, right?" Nanako asked with a bashful smile. I nodded in reply. Nanako giggled and walked over to me, sitting downbesides me. Petting her soft bran hair, I grabbed the remote and changed it to her favorite anime. For the rest of theevening until Nanako had fallen into a peaceful slumber, the two of usdiscussed about the plot of the anime show.

* * *

 _Sunday, July 24_ | _Morning..._

I let out a yawn, growing sleepy at the comforting sunlight that was seeping into the bedroom from the window. With summer in the air, the days are getting warmer with the power to make even the most strong-willed people fall asleep. I rubbed my eyes and shortly slapped my cheeks, helping me wake up a little. With a sigh, I looked up at my mirror and continued to comb my short hair. With summer vacation coming up soon, I should probably look for some summer jobs. A tradition that I made for myself. Suddenly, my iPhone rang. I blinked in surprise, wondering who could be calling me at such an early hour. I put my comb down and picked up my phone, seeing that it was a number I haven't seen before.

Blinking in surprise, I pressed the answer key and greeted shyly, "Hello?"

" _Uh! H-Hi… It's me- sorry to wake you_ " a familiar voice greeted nervously. I felt the earlier stress wash away in relief. It's just Naoki… I'll have to save this number as Naoki's so I don't get startled next time.

"It's fine. But, hey, Naoki-kun? Is something wrong?" I asked.

" _Er- no, not really. Um… I asked Kanji for your number yesterday so that I could call you and ask if you'd like to hang out..._ " Naoki explained, sounding stressed and embarrassed. " _Sorry, this must seem really creepy..._ "

"No, no, not at all. I was a little surprised, but I'm relieved that it's only you" I replied, reassuringly.

" _...Heh, you're weird_ " Naoki chuckled.

"So I've been told" I replied bluntly with a shrug. What's the use of being normal, anyways? Those with eye-catching personalities are the ones who can achieve, more in my opinion. Not that those types of people are superior- everyone should be treated equally.

" _Anyways, my shift is going to be over in an hour… And well… Yeah. Can we?_ " Naoki asked, sounding nervous like earlier.

"Sure, I have nothing planned today. Is there anywhere in particular that you want to meet up?" I asked.

" _How about... Souzai Daigaku? I'll meet you there at around 12:30_ " Naoki suggested. I nodded, thinking that it would be nice to have meat for lunch today.

"Alright, sounds good. I'll see you then" I replied.

" _Awesome! See ya_ " Naoki cheered, sounding excited. With that, I pressed the hang up key and placed the device down in front of me. Looking up at myself in the mirror, I hummed and tilted my head. Meat, huh…? I wonder what kind I should make that day...

* * *

 _Afternoon..._

At 12:30 pm sharp, I arrived at Souzai Daigaku where a causal-looking Naoki was awaiting for me. I apologized for being late to which he reassured that I was fine- he just had the advantage since his family's shop is much closer than where I was staying at. Still, I felt a little embarrassed and offered to pay for the food. Naoki commented on my stubborn behavior, sighed, and requested for one steak coquette. I decided to purchase the same, making the vender very happy. After getting our food, Naoki began yapping away but what had been happening to him the previous week.

"...Then Masaya made up an excuse for why he was late, and he said 'This wind was _really_ strong.'" Naoki continued. "The teacher got really pissed. 'Shut your eyes, all of you!' he yelled, and started scolding us. But no one knew why we had to close our eyes, so it was really awkward…" Naoki paused for a moment, letting out his chuckles so it wouldn't interrupt his story. "After scolding us, he starts class and he yells out, 'Who wants to answer? I know! Masaya, answer the question!' And Masaya says, 'I can't see the board with my eyes closed.' The teacher lost it right there, and the class became a free period." Naoki suddenly bursted out in laughter, seeming to have a good time. I felt something tickle within my own throat as the corner of my lips twitched. I felt a little bad for Naoki's classmate, Masaya, who had to deal with that embarrassment. A sudden memory flashed in my mind, causing the corner of my lips to twitch.

"You know, there was this one time when I was younger during health class. This was back when I was over in the city, the teacher had asked if anyone had done anything interesting during the summer" I began, catching Naoki's attention. "Back then, I rarely talked, but for some reason; I decided that I wanted to share my experience."

"Really? What did you do for the summer?" Naoki asked with a smile, intrigued.

"I went to a nearby beach to have some alone time, and while I was there, I saw some jellyfish" I explained.

"Whoa, seriously? You don't see them that often!" Naoki gasped, seeming surprised. I nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. But, back then, I didn't know the difference between tentacles and..." I paused, letting out an embarrassed sigh as my face heated up. "... _Testicles_." Naoki let out a quick laughed, quickly suppressing himself.

"Yep… So when the teacher called on me, I accidentally said: 'I saw a jellyfish with a messing _testicle_ '" I sighed, embarrassed at the memory. Naoki suddenly bursted out laughing, throwing his head back.

"Hahahahahaha! R-Really!? Oh, man! That's hilarious!" Naoki laughed, nearly falling out of his seat.

"To this day, whenever I see a jellyfish, I can't help but become embarrassed" I sighed, my voice strained as something tickled in my throat. Naoki suddenly became overcome with laughter, his face turning red as his eyes began to tear up from laughing so hard. I felt something tickle in my throat as I watched him in silence, glad to see the boy laughing so much.

"Haha… Whew. It feel like it's been a while since I laughed" Naoki sighed wiping the tears from his eyes. Naoki's expression looked gentle…

"That child, remember? The liquor store's?" a feminine voice muttered, catching our attention. Glancing over, I noticed two housewives with a hand over their lips as they glanced over at Naoki in what appeared to be disappointment and sympathy.

"Konishi-san's son, right?" the second woman asked softly.

"Their daughter was killed" the first woman reminded.

"Poor thing."

"A psychic on TV said that their ancestors committed some sin…"

"I heard their store faces the northeast, and that's what's bringing in all the bad luck."

"But that boy looked cheerful. You'd figure he would be sad. That's pretty cold of him."

"Siblings close in age aren't that friendly to each other. My son and daughter are…"

The two women continued to whisper to each other, which no longer reached our ears. I glanced over at Naoki and noticed that he is biting his lip… I felt my grip tightening on my chopsticks like that time I was with Hanamura. How can people talk about others, especially the family who had lost a child, talk about the other child with such ease? Those sorts of people… Need to relearn their manners! Taking a deep breath, I slammed my chopsticks down and stood up.

"What very rude women…" I growled, my eyes locked on their backs. "I'll go tell them off."

"No, it's okay… They're not worth your time…" Naoki squeaked, surprised by my actions. Looking down at him, I noticed that he looked as if he cheered up a bit behind his surprised eyes. The expression managed to calm me down- helping me sit back down.

"Those 'roving eyes' are always around somewhere. I'm used to it, though… It seems they're not satisfied unless I look like a victim" Naoki sighed, looking down at his food. There was a brief moment of silence between us. I sighed silently, calming my nerves. I shouldn't express myself so openly… I need to contain my emotions as best I can. It's the only way to make sure that I don't hurt anyone…

"...That's why it's been so long since I've talked to anyone about stupid things and just laughed… It's fun!" Naoki chuckled sheepishly, with a cheerful smile. I felt a warm feeling wash over me at the genuine expression, feeling our bond strengthening.

"Haha… I'm sorry. I probably made you feel uneasy, huh? Let's go home…" Naoki suggested as he looked away in embarrassment, standing up with his paper plate. I opened my mouth to object, but was caught off when I noticed the embarrassment and possible shame that filled his eyes… Not wanting to push him over his limit, I nodded, stood up, and the two of us threw away our food.

Before we had split up and head home, I looked over at Naoki and said, "I had fun today, Naoki-kun. Call me again when you want to hang out like this- okay?" Naoki blinked in surprise before smiling and nodded in reply.

* * *

 _Monday, July 25_ | _Early Morning..._

I stared up at the dark gray clouds in the sky, the rain tapping my transparent umbrella with it's inconsistent lullaby. But, despite knowing this, many people enjoy the sound of rain...

"Oh, good morning, Hi-chan!" a familiar voice greeted. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Yukiko quickly catch up to me holding her red umbrella.

"Good morning, Yukiko-chan" I greeted, the two of us walking side by side.

"Hey, have you seen the weather report? The rain's going to lift in the afternoon, but they said it's going to rain all day tomorrow. Would it be a good idea to check the Midnight Channel… just in case?" Yukiko asked shyly, causing my heart to stop. The conversation we had the other day replayed in my mind, my blood running cold. "The culprit is already wanted by the police, but he's someone the police can't handle to begin with." Looking down, I took a deep breath and thought.

If this was just a normal case… It would be wise to leave this to the police. But- this _isn't_ a normal case. This is a case that _we_ all worked on. _We_ were the ones who started saving the victims… What if someone gets thrown in and shows up tonight or something? If we stop because we think that the police have captured the culprit, it doesn't mean that the T.V world is safe. And besides, I still think that Morooka's death was a copycat killing...

Looking up, I nodded and muttered, "...We should. Let's check it out."

"Alright. Let's let everyone else know too, okay?" Yukiko suggested. I looked at her and nodded in agreement.

* * *

 _Lunch..._

I stared out at the chalkboard in the front of the classroom, Yukiko's uncertain voice from this morning ringing in my voice. Was she uncertain to check the Midnight Channel because the police have a lead on the suspect? Or is it that...

"Hey, something wrong?" a familiar voice asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I blinked in surprise and looked over my shoulder, my eyes locking with Hanamura's worried brown orbs.

"Huh? Oh, no. I was just thinking about something..." I muttered in reply, lowering my head.

"You sure? You can tell me if something is bothering you, you know" Hanamura pointed out as he stood up and walked over to my desk. I felt my heart skip a beat when Hanamura bent down, resting his chin on his arms which was on the side of my desk.

"...Yes, I know. Thank you, but I'm fine- really" I reassured, feeling rather relieved that he is worried about me.

"Hm… Oh!" Hanamura suddenly gasp, smiling brightly. "Hey, don't leave right away after school today, 'kay? Since it's almost summer break, I came up with an idea and I wanna tell you and the other's about it. I'm positive it's gonna turn that frown, upside down~!" Hanamura then suddenly poked the corner of my lips and lifted my skin up, forcing a smile on my face. Hanamura's smile slowly vanished as he stared at me for a second in shock before bursting into laughter, his face glowing red.

"Haha! You look cute like this. I'm almost tempted to take a picture!" Hanamura teased, pushing my skin higher. I felt my face heat up as I shook my head, not wanting to have a picture taken. Hanamura only laughed some more, stood up, and patted the top of my head like I was a child.

Suddenly, a girl barged into the room, catching everyone's attention. I noticed that she was the same girl who did the same thing after midterms.

"Hey guys, they posted the test results!" the girl announced before she rushed over to her group of friends.

"Ugh. You gotta be kidding me..." Hanamura groaned, catching my attention. "I really don't wanna see my score..."

"It can't be _that_ bad. You studied with me before the exam, so maybe your math score should be okay" I pointed out, wanting to cheer him up.

"Haha… I doubt it" Hanamura chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his head. "Besides, I haven't been sleeping well during that week 'cause of your bullying incident." I blinked in surprise, unaware that the events that took place during that week had caused so much trouble for my friend.

"Sorry..." I apologized as I looked down at my hands.

"What are you apologizing for? It's not your fault!" Hanamura reassured, lifting my head so that I would looked up at him. When our eyes locked, Hanamura smiled gently, causing a warm feeling to wash over me. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I glanced away, causing Hanamura to let go of my head.

"Hey, let's go see _your_ score!" Hanamura suggested with a bright smile. I nodded, a bit curious to see if I've improved from last time. I stood up from my desk, and the two of us headed downstairs.

When Hanamura and I arrived at the first floor, we saw that a large group of students were gathered around the bulletin board, the number bigger compared to after midterms. I noticed that Kou and Chou were there too, talking happily as usual. Though, Kou's eyes seemed to be mainly focused on Nise, who was in the front of the crowd. Nise was looking excited, tears of joy falling down his face as some sort of bread stuck out of his mouth. With Hanamura in front of me, he apologized and made our way through the crowd to the front. While doing so, I noticed that a majority of the students were looking at me, some of the boys seeming to blush for some reason.

"Hey! If it ain't Yosuke and Hitomi-chan!" Kou greeted as the two of us got to the front. Stepping out from behind Hanamura, I was immediately tackled by Kou.

"You are, like, a superwoman! You're so cool- if I was a guy, I'd fall for you!" Kou joked, laughing as she removed herself from me. I blinked nervously in confusion and surprise, feeling something tickle my throat.

"Hi, Kou-chan" I greeted, nodding hello to Chou. Chou rubbed the back of her head and nodded hello, seeming to still be a bit ashamed about not knowing that I was bullied that week...

"Yo, check this out!" Nise exclaimed, waving me over. Curious, I walked over to him and looked at the paper.

"You're killing it, Narukami! Look at that!" Nise laughed, pointing at my name which was on the second slot, five slots above Yukiko's name. I blinked in surprise, astonished that I got such a high score. And above Yukiko's score!

"No way! You bested Yukiko?!" Hanamura exclaimed, just as surprised as me.

"You really must have studied hard at the last minute" Nise guessed, scratching the back of his head.

"No, I'm sure Hi-chan is just naturally smart" Yukiko giggled, smiling happily at me. I felt my face heat up as I scratched my right cheek, looking away. There's no way that I'm smart… If I was, I would have caught the culprit by now.

"Hey, Hitomi-senpai!" a familiar voice called out, catching my attention. Looking past the crowd around me, I saw Ryo smiling happily as he walked towards me, dragging a surprised Kanji behind him. The girls squealed at the presence of Ryo, the crowd splitting so it would be easier for the two first years to get towards me.

"Hey, come and eat with us to celebrate you getting second place!" Ryo suggested with a charming smile that made even my heart skip a beat. He then looked up at Yukiko and nodded. "Yukiko-senpai, you can join us too if you'd like."

"Wha-? Hey, what about _us_?!" Nise and Hanamura asked at the same time, both sounding and looking upset. Ryo looked at them and blinked, looking a bit upset.

"Aw, do you guys not have any other friends?" Ryo huffed, sounding disappointed. Nise and Hanamura growled, their teeth gritting at Ryo's insult. Not wanting things to escalate, I cleared my throat.

"Um, if you don't mind, Ryo-kun..." I began, catching his undivided attention. "I think it would be a lot more fun if we ate together. All of us."

Ryo stared at me in slight surprise for a moment before smiling brightly and nodded, saying, "Okay! I can't say no to Hitomi-senpai~!" There was a wave of "ooh"'s and asks that surrounded us, coming from the crowd.

"Dude, he is just as dangerous as the killer..." I heard Nise mutter softly behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I rubbed the back of my head in an apologetic manner. Sighing, he, Yukiko, and Hanamura walked behind me as we all walked towards the cafeteria.

* * *

 _After school..._

I packed my bag, as usual, while my classmates quickly gathered their things and left in the excitement of getting some rest. Of course, there were still those lazy or too tired students who stayed behind and/or talked with their friends.

"Aaaah, we're finally free!" Hanamura sighed as if he was stretching.

"What are you talking about? We still have tomorrow, idiot" Nise corrected as he looked over his shoulder, packing his things in his bag.

"Why are you so angry?" Hanamura asked as he walked over and stood next to Ryo and Kanji, who had arrived almost immediately after the bell rang, his arms crossed over his chest. "You still upset over the pudding?" Nise stood up and pounded his fist to his chest.

"Hey man, it's been _forever_ since I had pudding! I was so excited to eat it!" Nise snapped, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I guess it can get rather competitive with two other guys also wanting pudding" Ryo chuckled. I looked over at Kanji, causing him to stiffen.

"D-Don't look at me like that! I'm still growing" Kanji huffed, blushing a little in embarrassment.

"So am I, jerk! Aren't you supposed to prioritize your senpai's?!" Nise snapped.

"I certainly do!" Ryo stated, raising his hand. "If I managed to get that pudding cup, I would have given it to you, Hitomi-senpai~" Ryo looked at me and smiled cutely, causing my heart to skip a beat as my face heated up.

"Knowing Hi-chan, she would have just given it to Nise" Yukiko pointed out, catching my attention. I nodded in agreement, that being the very thing I would have done.

"Can we _please_ stop talking about the pudding? I wanna ask you guys something" Hanamura huffed, catching our attention. Nise sighed and sat back down, returning to packing his things, as Hanamura continued; "Why don't we go somewhere during summer vacation? My motorcycle's back from the shop."

"Wait, I thought that it was _already_ fixed" Kanji asked, confused.

"No- I was _paying_ for it's final repair" Hanamura explained, uncrossing his arms.

"Hey, you guys have motorcycles!? Lucky you!" Ryo exclaimed, seeming impressed.

"Still can't believe you actually got you license" Nise began, looking at Hanamura with a bored expression. "I mean, like, I _know_ you got it- you were flashing that thing the next morning after you got it like a brat- but I guess my brain just can't wrap my head around it." Hanamura clicked his tongue in slight embarrassment, acting like a trigger that caused me to return to packing my things as well.

"As I was _saying_ …" Hanamura began, sounding annoyed by all the people who were interrupting him. "We should go somewhere over summer vacation, like the beach. It'd be a pain to go by train, but a _motorcycle_...!" I blinked in surprise at Hanamura's offer, stuffing my final notebook into my bag as I looked at him.

"Hm, I haven't been to the beach in a long time…" Ryo hummed in thought, tilting his head a little.

"Huh…" Nise hum, catching my attention. "The bright sun, the glistening waves, that luscious scent drifting from nearby stands, the dripping of meat juices…" Yukiko giggled as I felt something in my throat tickle, the two of us noticing that in the corner of Nise's mouth; it was leaking drool.

"Is food _all_ you can think about...?" Hanamura muttered nervously, a drop of sweat rolling down his jaw.

"Hey, why don't we get our licenses too? It's just a written test, right?" Ryo asked, jabbing his elbow to Kanji's side.

"We can't. We're too young" Kanji pointed out as he swatted Ryo's arm away.

"Huh? Oh!" Ryo exclaimed before suddenly suppressing himself from bursting into laughter."Pft- sorry Kanji! But my birthday was last month, so I'm sixteen now."

"Wha-?! Hey, that's cheating!" Kanji stammered. I blinked in surprise by the news and stood up.

"Y-Your birthday was last month?" I asked, shocked. Ryo looked at me in blinked- shortly nodding to confirm. I stammered a strange sound in shock, shortly rubbed the back of my head, feeling guilty.

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't get to bake you a cake..." I muttered.

"Huh?" Ryo blinked in surprise, blushing. "You would have done that for me?" I nodded in reply, glancing over to Hanamura who had experienced the first of my cake. However, Hanamura looked rather blank as he stared at Ryo.

"Aww, aren't you a little cinnamon roll~!" Ryo chuckled, causing my eyes to return to him. "Hey, if you haven't gotten your license yet, feel free to sit behind me when I get mine~! You would have to squeeze in close for safety."

"...It's against the _law_ to have two people ride on a motorcycle" Hanamura pointed out, sounding a bit annoyed. "But I think it's a good idea for you guys to get your licenses. It only takes about a week." Noticing the seriousness that Hanamura was putting into everything, I looked over at Yukiko, our eyes locking.

"Um, Yukiko-chan? Do you think that…?" I began, a little shy to fully ask. Yukiko looked up at the ceiling and hummed.

"Hm… It's supposed to be for work, but there's a scooter at the inn!" Yukiko recalled, smiling at me.

"Well, we got one as a gift at the office that's just sitting around. I bet I could borrow it if I asked!" Ryo thought out loud- his expression suddenly saddening. "...I'd have to call my manager, though." I stared at Ryo in surprise, my heart quickly sinking at the sight of Ryo's sad expression.

"...Huh? I-Is this actually working out...?" Hanamura stammered, surprised. He smiled for a moment but then flinched and looked over at Nise.

"Uh, how about you, Nise?" Hanamura asked nervously, everyone's attention directed at him now. Nise, who had finished packing his bag, was just sitting at his desk with a slightly frustrated and annoyed expression.

"We went over this before- I'm too broke to get one" Nise huffed, pouting. "Even if I manage to get a summer job, I'll take _forever_ to buy one..."

"I-It can be any kind as long as it's lower than 50cc!" Hanamura pointed out, causing Yukiko to blink in surprise.

"Oh, hey…! Isn't there your uncle…?" Yukiko asked, catching Nise's attention. Nise stared at Yukiko with a blank expression for a moment before suddenly blinking in realization.

"Wait, 50cc…? And with uncle… N-No way…!" Nise gasped, looking over at Hanamura with wide eyes. "I-I might actually be in luck… I have a motor head uncle who loves motorcycles! I know that he has a scooter he's not a big fan of that's around that range… Maybe I can borrow it!"

"Whoa… This might really happen!" Hanamura huffed, slowly comprehending what was happening. "A-Alright! Let's all get our licenses and hit the beach together!" I blinked in realization and raised my hand shyly.

"Hold on... What about Berry? We can't just leave her behind and have all the fun- that's too cruel" I pointed out.

"Huh? Oh, uh…. Hmm. Well, if she doesn't move around, she could pass as luggage" Hanamura snickered, looking a little sinister. I stared at him a little in disappointment, not liking the idea of treating Berry like luggage.

"That's stretchin' it a little…" Kanji and I commented nervously.

"It'll be fine. If we can't get her on with one of us, we'll just strap on some wheels and tow her" Hanamura reassured, shrugging. There was a moment of silence as we all imagined Berry on some sort of wheels… When suddenly, we heard Yukiko begin to giggle, trying to suppress herself. I looked over at her and blinked in surprise.

"Wh-What's so funny?" Nise asked nervously.

"Berry… on wheels… Heehee… Rollerskates...! Ahaha… It's perfect!" Yukiko laughed, struggling to say her words. I hummed as I crossed my arms underneath my chest, thinking of Berry being on wheels. It certainly wouldn't be bad, but…

"Someone would have to teach her how to rollerskate first..." I pointed out. Perhaps I should teach her…?

"...I've made up my mind. I'm gonna get my license!" Ryo suddenly announced, catching our attention. "The beach, huh...? I've gone before for pinup shoots, but it's been a while since I went for fun!" I blinked in surprise at Ryo's announcement. Would he be alright…? Calling his manager and asking a favor like that…? Noticing that I was unintentionally staring at him, Ryo smiled and blushed.

"Hey, hey! Who are _you_ looking forward to seeing in a _swimsuit_ , Hitomi-senpai~?" Ryo suddenly asked, leaning towards me.

"H-Huh…?!" I stammered, my face heating up. Looking down at my hands, I nervously twiddled my fingers. "Uh… E-Everyone? I d-don't personally care… As long as everyone gets to go and have fun, it doesn't matter much to me."

"Aw, so nice! You grow cuter and cuter with each passing day~" Ryo chuckled, blushing a cute pink that complimented his skin well. I felt my face grow even hotter as I looked away, my heart skipping beats like a melody.

"...Anyway," Hanamura began, catching my attention. "Looks like we're set on going to the beach. Yukiko, Nise; you guys should get your licenses too. Then you can ride motorcycles with us."

"Well then, let's do this!" Nise cheered, standing up with his bag in one hand.

"Yeah!" Ryo cheered as well.

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah!" Yukiko agreed, seeming a bit out of it, her face red. With that, we all walked out of the classroom to head to school for the day.

* * *

 _Tuesday, July 26_ | _Early Morning_

Once again, like yesterday morning, I stared up at the gray clouds as their tears tapped on my umbrella. There was something in the air that… bothered me. Perhaps it was the suspension of having to wait until later tonight that I watch the Midnight Channel…? Whatever it was, it made me feel off.

"Yo! Look who it is!" a familiar voice laughed, catching my attention. Looking ahead of me, I noticed Nise, Yukiko, and Hanamura walking together with smiles as they waited for me. For some reason, my heart throbbed at the sight of them all together without me, my legs pushing me forward to them.

"'Morning" Nise greeted with a smile. I nodded in reply, my voice unable to surface. With me now in the group, standing next to Yukiko, the four of us continued our way to school. I walked in silence as the three of them continued a conversation that I was not a part of. Despite walking in their company, I… My heart still throbbed in unbearable pain.

As we got closer and closer to the school campus, I noticed that there were several police officers watching the students walk inside the building, protected by transparent raincoats.

"It looks like that detective kid's story was true..." Hanamura hummed, catching my attention. I gulped quietly and as we walked past them, not drawing any attention.

"So what part do we have to play now?" Nise asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't think there _is_ one anymore..." Yukiko sighed. I felt my heart freeze at this, my blood running cold. For some reason, my body began to slow down to an eventual halt. Why is everyone… Acting like we won't be together any more? We'll still be friends and we'll still be able to hang out! We don't _need_ a murder case just to stay friends… As long as we have each other, we aren't going to be separated…! I mean… Do we really need the T.V to stay together…? If that's the case… Then… "...Not yet" I couldn't help but mutter. Realizing that I had spoken aloud, I looked up and saw the other's staring at me in confusion and surprise. Embarrassed, I looked down.

"Er… Sorry..." I apologized. I took a deep breath and looked up at the others. "...Hey, listen. It'll be raining all day today, so… Let's still watch the Midnight Channel tonight."

"Agreed. Let's make sure this thing is solved for real!" Hanamura agreed with a smile. Nise and Yukiko smiled and nodded in agreement. I felt my heart squeeze in pain and guilt, causing me to look down in shame. The others continued to walk inside, my slow steps right behind them as they did so.

What was I doing…? Why do I insist on putting everyone in danger? I should know from experience that the T.V world isn't the safest. And yet… Why? I should have more confidence in everyone. After all, we've all made a bond together… The sooner this case is closed, the sooner that everyone can enjoy their lives once again. And by doing this… I glanced up at Hanamura, his head turned to Nise who was smiling in a teasing way. They were still going at the conversation from before…

I looked back down and placed a hand to my chest, squeezing my uniform. I'm stopping Hanamura from being released of his pain… How will he be free from Konishi's death and be truly happy if I keep on insisting that the police hadn't really captured the right guy? But… It's for a reason. I mean, it feels like this isn't the end. And the last thing I want is for the police to capture the wrong man, which would hurt Hanamura. But at the same time…

I'm awful.

* * *

 _Evening..._

I stared out the window while sitting in a unique position on my couch in my bedroom, watching the rain droplets slide down the glass window pane. Watching these droplets fall, I felt… Relaxed. Watching the simplest things play into motion like this really helped my mind be at ease… Without much thought, my left hand reached up and traced the trail of a small droplet, the coldness of the glass sending shivers down my spine. But, nevertheless, I still felt at peace. It's the simplest things like this that proves I'm alive… That I exist. I sighed and rubbed the side of my head where my injury from the recent accident was. It didn't hurt me all that much, but Ryo and the doctor told me that if I wasn't careful, I could get a concussion. With tomorrow being the start of summer vacation, I should start paying attention to my actions.

Suddenly, a bright yellow and orange image reflected on the window appeared, earning a gasp of surprise. I looked over at the television and there saw a boy wearing a yellow shirt with some sort of black, gaming logo on it. He was standing in front of what appeared to be a dungeon… And I mean _dungeon_. Like the one from old video games. I immediately recognized him as the guy who tried to hurt Yukiko and Nanako.

" _ **HAHAHAHAHAH! So now you want to pay attention to me, is that it?**_ " the boy laughed maniacally. " _ **You all think you can see me? You all think you know everything about me? Then, catch me if you can!**_ "

Silence filled the room once again as the screen faded, returning to its previous state. What… just happened? It went by so fast, I… I'm a bit caught off guard. Suddenly, my iPhone that was sitting on my coffee table rang. I quickly snatched it and pressed the answer key, already knowing that it was Hanamura.

" _Hey, did you see that!?_ " Hanamura asked immediately, without giving me the chance to greet him.

"Yes, I did" I replied, properly sitting my sofa. "What is that guy doing there? He wasn't on television recently..."

" _Yeah. And who is that guy? Like, I get that he's that creep who's been after Yukiko and tried to hurt Nanako-chan, but I don't really know anything about him. Like his name, for example_ " Hanamura pointed out, causing me to blink in surprise. He was right- that boy has interacted with us in total of three times and out of all three situations, we haven't discovered his name at all.

" _He seemed really gloomy… Like a zombie…_ " Hanamura hummed. I nodded slowly in agreement, unable to hold back on that fact.

" _Yosuke! Yooosukeeee!_ " I heard Berry call out in the background.

" _Alright already, I hear you! Sorry, I'm gonna give the phone to Ber_ " Hanamura sighed. I felt the corner of my lips twitch, thinking that "Ber" was a rather cute nickname for Berry.

" _Sensei! It's me, Berry!_ " Berry greeted, happily.

"Good evening, Berry" I greeted back. It was kind of strange to hear Berry on the other end of a cell phone.

" _I finally got to see the Midnight Channel with my own eyes. Now I know exactly what's happening_ " Berry began, sounding serious. " _That guy's suppressed emotions are resonating with the other side, which are picked up by the TVs over here. It's clear now that it's not being filmed by anyone. Mystery solved!_ " I hummed in reply, tilting my head back so that I could stare at the ceiling in thought. I suppose that is one mystery solved… But what about the previous times- at least, with the other victims- to which we receive a blurry image at first? How does that occur…? And why didn't it happen this time?

" _But that kid… He must already be inside the other world!_ " Berry squeaked, sounding nervous. " _What're we gonna do!?_ "

I thought about it for a moment, glancing back at the television. That boy… I feel like he has something to do with Morooka's death. Out of all the people I could meet the day after Morooka had died, it was _him_ … And he tried to hurt Nanako and Yukiko, saying something about bringing them to a different "world". This can't be a coincidence.

"...We're going in" I replied at last.

" _Gotcha! I knew I could count on you, Sensei!_ " Berry giggled. " _I think my heart skipped a beat… You're so cool!_ "

" _That's enough, Ber! Gimme the phone!_ " I heard Hanamura bark in the background, the sound of the iPhone being wrestled with.

" _Eeek! Stupid Perv-suke!_ " Berry squeak in the background. Hanamura huffed in reply, not giving much attention to Berry anymore.

" _Hey, how could he be already inside!? What happened to the blurry image that we usually see in advance?_ " Hanamura asked, sounding confused and frustrated.

"That's what I want to know. For right now, though, we can assume that someone had thrown him into the television recently- a few hours ago, even" I mused, scratching my right cheek.

" _...If that Naoto kid story is true, then that means someone our age managed to throw that kid into the T.V_ " Hanamura muttered. I nodded, feeling the same way he was. It's scary to think a mere child our age could be up to no good and kill… I blinked in sudden realization, standing up. Shirogane said that the suspect the police were after was a high schooler… That boy seemed to have been around our same age group- and when he first talked to Yukiko, he was even wearing a high school uniform…! Could it be?

" _Hey, do you think that-?_ " Hanamura and I began at the same time. Startled, we both gasped. Hanamura then began to laugh as something tickled in my throat.

"You were thinking what I was, right?" I asked.

" _Yeah. That kid might be the very suspect that the police as after_ " Hanamura replied. I nodded in agreement, turning my attention to the curtains behind me.

"Let the others know that we're going in. Let's meet up at headquarters tomorrow, alright?" I instructed.

" _Got it. 'Night Narukami-chan_ " Hanamura replied, shortly hanging up.

* * *

 _Wednesday, July 27_ | _Afternoon..._

The moment I woke up today, I messaged everyone and informed them to head to Junes in the afternoon to start searching for the boy. I left early than the agreed time to order Berry to start sniffing around. Shortly after, the others arrived dressed in their casual clothing since today was the start of summer. Hanamura took them all to our table while I had Ryo enter the television to search for the boy. He felt a little nervous, this being his first time entering the television of his own free will. With a little reassurance, he managed to enter the T.V. with a calm look on his face. Once he was in, I turned around and headed for the food court, where the others were waiting.

"Okay, Ryo and Berry are checking out the other side, so we'll go ahead and start the meeting" I instructed, joining the others as I sat next to Yukiko, across from Nise, Hanamura, and Kanji.

"Now, about what happened last night… You guys all saw it, right?" Hanamura continued for me, looking at the others with serious eyes.

"Yeah. Shit he said made my blood boil" Kanji began, growling. "That mumbling of his and those fish-like eyes pissed me off even more. Who the hell is he?"

"Under normal circumstances, I'd say that he was a victim… But when I noticed how clear the image was on TV, I knew something was different" I replied.

"I called Nise, and while we were talking, it hit me… Maybe that boy is the culprit" Yukiko began.

"It's just a hunch, but it makes senses" Nise finished. I nodded in agreement.

"Hanamura and I came to the same conclusion" I pointed out. "We've been told the suspect is a high schooler… The police are after him for the murder of Mr. Morooka."

"So to see that on TV last night, at a time like this… I mean, he even taunted the viewers, saying 'Try and catch me'..." Hanamura added as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uhhhh… So?" Kanji asked, not seeming to understand where we're going. Hanamura hummed for a minute before turning his body towards Kanji.

"Alright, let's say there's this high school student. We'll call him Shin. For some random reason, who knows why, Shin is able to enter the other world. Then Shin, again for some random reason, starts throwing people into that world, intending to kill them. The police can't prove the other world exists, so it's the perfect crime. He can't possibly be caught. Now imagine you're Shin, but after a while, people stop dying when you throw them in the TV. You don't know why. You want to kill King Moron, but the TV is out, so you have to do it personally. Now the police are onto you. As a result, you-I mean Shin-is a wanted criminal, and there's no place for him to run" Hanamura explained. Nise, Yukiko, and I all nodded; understanding the scenario completely. Kanji stared at Hanamura for a moment, slowly beginning to nod.

"So… you're saying he went into the other world to dodge the cops? Ohhhh… So that's why he said, 'Catch me if you can…'" Kanji mused, finally understanding. "Wow Senpai, you're smarter than you look!"

"Geez, you can piss me off sometimes" Hanamura growled, his left eyebrow twitching in annoyance and anger.

"We still don't know why he targeted people who were shown on TV… But if he had a personal grudge against Mr. Morooka, that explains one thing. With a strong enough motive, wouldn't he forsake the untraceable TV method and try to kill Mr. Morooka on his own? If you think about it that way, it sort of makes sense why Mr. Morooka died without appearing on TV" Yukiko mused.

"But I wonder what that boy's going to do, now that he's in there… With Berry on this side, there's no way for him to get out…" Nise hummed.

"Y-You don't think… he's gonna get desperate and end it all...? He did look… a bit insane.." Yukiko stuttered, her face paling.

"No, I don't think that's it. The killer has to know that the people he threw into the TV have come back to this side" Hanamura began. "I can see missing Yukiko or Kanji. But Ryo, a _celebrity_ …? There's no way the killer wouldn't know she's still alive. So that means he knows there's a way out of the TV world. As for the rest… We'll just have to ask him face to face." We all nodded in agreement, the other's shortly standing up and getting ready to leave for the T.V World. I, on the other hand, continued to sit at my spot.

I felt… somewhat hesitant to leave and search for the boy in the other world. I feel like if we did and we managed to find him… The group would be over… I gasped softly, realizing where my thoughts were going and shook my head, quickly standing up and chasing after my friends. I can't let… my emotions… get the better of me. We need to catch this boy… For _everyone's_ sake.

There's no time for me to be selfish.

* * *

"What is this...? Some kinda game?" Nise asked, raising an eyebrow at the strange scenery before us.

After entering the television (and nearly scaring Ryo half to death), Berry had managed to get a scent of the boy for some reason and lead us there. The others were discussing what sort of place he would have, expecting that of a wasteland or a bloody building with dead bodies hanging on it. I... was too caught up in my selfishness to join in the conversation, walking silently by Berry in front of the group. When Berry announced that we've reached our destination, instead of a wasteland or bloody building, we saw what appeared to be some sort of… Video game selection screen and life-size pixelated dungeon entrance. The game selection screen gave us three options: New Game, continue, or options. I couldn't help but scoff quietly.

"Well, he did taunt us, saying 'Try and catch me'... I guess he thinks of all this as a game" Hanamura mused, sounding annoyed. Nise gritted his teeth in annoyance, his hands tightening into fists.

"Ohhh, this pisses me off! I hereby sentence him to a hundred kicks to the _face_!" Nise roared, kicking up his right foot in the air.

"...Let the games begin" I muttered, causing the others to being walking forward while Berry and me walked behind the group.

"Gotta admit… All guys love games" Hanamura admitted, the other guys groaning in shame. Yukiko tried to suppress a giggle, causing Nise to look at her nervously.

"And Berry!" Berry giggled, raising a paw to the air. I nodded in agreement while the others said nothing.

Wandering inside the pixelated hallways, light up with pixelated torches, I couldn't help but feel rather uncomfortable. It's no secret that those who play video games severely enjoy it wish that they could be in a video game themselves, but… I don't think they meant like _this_.

"Geez, this 8-bit music and the pixel-blocks are seriously making me question this guy's sanity..." Nise grumbled, tying his hands behind his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kanji asked, confused.

"Well, this guy is a kid right? Just our age. And, like… With this whole 'game world' setting, it's making it hard for me to believe that he's our killer, you know?" Nise explained. "Like… It's showing his immaturity." Kanji hummed for a moment, trying to put together what Nise had explained.

"Oh, I get what you mean. I guess it _is_ kind hard to believe that a kid would be killin' people... But at the same time, people themselves _are_ pretty crazy. Can't be all that shocking" Kanji huffed. I was slightly amused by his words, finding them rather… _Philosophical_ , I suppose.

"With a strong enough motive and a strong enough desire, human's can do whatever they put their minds to" Berry hummed. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my jaw, a certain air of mystery and danger filled with Berry's words. It's kind of scary when a creature like Berry says something like _that_...

"Eheh, that's scary to think about…" Ryo laughed nervously, clearly uncomfortable by the topic. In the corner of my eye, I noticed cube shaped Shadow's, looking like dice, forming from the walls and floated towards us. Berry exclaimed and happily jumped up and down, rubbing her paws together.

"Berr-sona!" Berry called out, summoning her card and shortly smashing it with an uppercut. Kintoki-Douji appeared at command and Berry began to attack the Shadow's with a certain sense of pride. Noticing that the other's had stopped moving, I decided to keep an eye on Berry since the others seemed to be in thought about something.

"Oh, hey… Now that I think about it… That guy came to our shop before…" I heard Ryo hum. Everyone gasped slightly in surprise, catching my attention. I walk forward to the group and stood next to Ryo, wanting to hear more. "So was he… spying on me? Oh my God… I really was being targeted…!"

"Dammit! Freakin' punk!" Kanji growled, slamming a fist to his palm in anger.

"You know what pisses me off? He's also that guy who's been flirting Yukiko up like a desperate bitch" Nise growled. He then gasped and continued, "Wait! Do you think he kidnap Yukiko to get back at her for rejecting him!?"

"Um… I didn't really _reject_ him…" Yukiko clarified shyly, drops of sweat rolling down her face.

"Yeah, but with you being you, you didn't really give him an answer either. That's why he got all physical last time" Nise explained with a huff, crossing his arms. Yukiko blushed and looked down.

"Ryo-kun, what was that boy doing when he visited you?" I asked, turning my attention back to Ryo.

"He came up to me while I was busy working and asked, 'Don't the biker gangs bother you?' Just going on and on about how biker gangs can't do anything unless they're in a pack and stuff. He seemed to be the type who just keeps talking, whether you like it or not… if that makes sense" Ryo began. We all nodded, understanding what he was trying to say. "I usually treat those people politely so they don't get offended, but I was so tired that I kinda ignored him. Was that why I was kidnapped...?"

"Biker gangs? You think that's why he went for Kanji?" Hanamura asked, drawing the attention to Kanji now.

"Huh...? Wait, I'm not a biker! I was never _in_ a biker gang!" Kanji huffed, placing his hands to his hips. He then sighed, closing his eyes in frustration. "Ugh… That damn special report… So _that's_ why I got dragged into this." I scratched my right cheek as I stared at Kanji in pity. Poor guy… The mass media sure is a scary place to be in.

"You know, I heard he's been saying stuff about that announcer's affair, too. Lots of muttering about how women who cheat on their husbands should be executed" Nise pointed out with a huff.

"Sounds like it's all coming together…!" Hanamura said with a gradual grin. "Let's hurry up and end this, guys!" The other nodded in agreement continued to walk again, talking in excitement regarding what they could do after they catch the boy. I began to follow after them, but my legs soon started to get heavy- causing me to stop.

"Huh? Everyone's gone? Did they just leave us bear-hind?" I heard Berry asked, noticing that she stopped right besides me. "They can be such mean meanies sometimes, I swear! You agree, right Sen…sei? Sensei?" I stared at Berry for a moment then looked back at the group.

How nice… It seems like Berry and I are the outsiders… The transfer kid and the creature from a strange world inside the T.V… It's rather accurate.

"Oh no, what's wrong Sensei?!" Berry suddenly squeaked in worry, holding my hand. I shook my head and began to walk, dragging Berry along with me.

"...Let's go Berry. We don't want to get left behind" I instructed. Berry made some audible sounds, as if trying to protest, but she soon became quiet and the two of us caught up with the others.

After what seemed liked a good thirty minutes of walking, I noticed that large wooden pixelated doors awaited us at the end of the hallway. Feeling something ominous in the air, I rushed in front of the group and ran towards the doors. Upon contact with my hands, the doors opened with ease. The others rushed into the room, standing behind me, panting from the sudden need to sprint.

"Look! There he is!" Nise exclaimed as he pointed at the boy and his Shadow who was playing a video game. I blinked in surprise at the sight, caught a bit off guard by this. It's almost hard to distinguish which one is the Shadow and which one is the real one.

"You better be ready to pay, you bastard!" Kanji growled, popping his knuckles.

"Wait, Kanji… Something's not right!" Hanamura warned, raising a hand.

"Everyone gets on my nerves… That's why I did it! What do you think of that!? Say something, dammit!" the boy, presumably original, shouted. "Nobody even thought of me after the first two people. That's why I went for the third one! _I_ killed them! Wh-What do you think of that?!"

"… **I feel nothing** " the Shadow replied simply.

"What're you talking about!? Make _sense_ , dammit!" the boy growled, seeming frustrated.

"What the…? Which one's the Shadow?" Nise asked, raising a brow.

" **I… have nothing…** " the Shadow began, the monster on the screen slowly disintegrating. It must be the "final boss" of the game. Fitting for this situation.

" **I** _ **am**_ **nothing…** " the Shadow continued, dropping the game controller and standing up to face us. " **And you… are me…** "

"What...? What's that supposed to mean!? I'm… I'm not nothing…" the boy argued weakly, hinting the fact that the Shadow might be right. So this boy is facing some existentialism problems, huh? I can relate...

"No! If this keeps up...!" Yukiko squeaked. Having heard Yukiko, the boy turned around and faced us.

"Wh-Who are you guys?! How'd you get in here...?" the boy shouted, sounding frightened. I noticed that he was sweating uncontrollably, his eyes more dilated than usual. "Dammit, who the hell are you!? What're you doing here!?"

"Does he not remember us?" Hanamura asked, sounding confused.

"No one cares, now shut the hell up! We came after you!" Kanji shouted

"Are you the killer?" Ryo asked, taking a step forward. The boy flinched, startled by the sudden question. There was a brief moment of silence when the boy suddenly began to chuckle, covering his face with his left hand.

"Ahahahahaha! Of course I am! I'm the one behind _everything_! I don't give a damn what this impostor's saying! Hahaha, you hear that!? You have nothing to do with me!" The boy laughed. He then turned around and faced his Shadow, physically pushing him down to the side, shouting, "Get outta my sight!" The Shadow became limp on the ground, showing no resistance as his hollow eyes stared at me. I couldn't help but shudder, the emptiness within its yearning and pained eyes reminding myself of me.

"That goes for the rest of you, too… Why'd you chase me all the way here?!" the boy growled as he turned back around and face us. "I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! I can do it, you know… I can do _anything_!" The boys gritted their teeth as they stood in front of Berry, Yukiko, and myself; as if protecting us. I was slightly flattered, but my main concern was focused more on the Shadow as it slowly got up.

" **So you don't accept me…** " the Shadow began, black mist surrounding it. I blinked in surprise, startled that the Shadow was assuming it's original wasn't accepting it. It's not like the boy had flat out said that he hadn't accepted it like all the previous times… So why, then, is the black mist appearing?

"Ngh… What the…?" the boy suddenly gasped, falling down. I blinked in surprise and took a step forward, confused as to what was happening. Suddenly, the mist began to grow, seeming more darker than a moonless night; shortly engulfing the room. A power, chilling gust of air blew over all of us in attempt for us to leave; everyone exclaiming in surprise as they walked against the wind to prevent being pushed back. I held strong against the wind, showing no fear as if it were an enemy. When the black mist disappeared, I gasped softly in surprise. The Shadow had transformed into a pixelated figure wearing a red helmet, white, blue, and golden clothes, red boots, and a steel sword. It appears to be a video game character… Most likely the "hero" character.

" **I am… a shadow…** " the Shadow began, his voice now deep with a hint of robotic sounds mixed in it. " **Come… I'll end your emptiness.** "

"It's all jaggy and blocky!" Berry squeaked.

"Is that thing supposed to be a game character...? Geez, how insulting can he get!?" Hanamura groaned, seeming now upset about the video game theme.

"Guys, we might have some trouble here...!" Ryo warned, catching our attention to look back at him. Standing over him was Ichigo, who was scanning the enemy. "You'll have to destroy the outer shell first! You can't take out the Shadow, otherwise." I nodded in reply and extended my left hand to the others.

"Alright everyone, you heard Ryo-kun!" I began, pointing to Kanji and Nise. "Kanji-kun and Nise-kun- I want you two to do close up physical attacks. Yukiko-chan, Hanamura, and Berry- I want you three doing long distant magic-based spells." I looked back over to Ryo and nodded, saying, "Ryo-kun, continue to update me on what's going on so I can change tactics to the favoring side."

"Got it!" everyone said at the same time, all of them summoned their persona's. Kanji and Nise immediately ran over to the left of the Shadow once Tomoe and Take-Mikazuchi were summoned, and began to do physical attacks. Berry, Yukiko, and Hanamura went to the Shadow's right and began to attack with wind, fire, and ice. Ryo and I stayed where we stood and watched the others fight the Shadow, noticing that it seemed to be doing well against the five.

"Hitomi-senpai, it's strong against physical attacks… But it seems to have some barriers with magic spells!" Ryo pointed out, sounding nervous. I nodded as I thought for a moment.

"Got it. I'll go more physical after I break down the barriers" I replied, clasping my hands over my chest, smashing the arcana that had descended in front of me. Feeling Izanagi free himself from me, I extending my hand towards the Shadow. Without any need for verbal demands, Izanagi rushed towards the Shadow and began to cast spells. The Shadow squirmed from Izanagi's spells, quickly breaking free and swung its sword. Izanagi managed to dodge the attack and try again, only to be interrupted once again. I pursed my lips together at the surprising speed the Shadow had. If it keeps moving and interrupting me like that, I won't be able to break the barriers… With a soft sigh, I extended my hand, causing Izanagi to use his nagata and begin using physical attacks with Take-Mikazuchi and Tomoe. The Shadow whimpered in pain from the damage it was taking, it's outer-shell starting to glow. The Shadow looked over and locked it's large, cartoonish eyes with mine, causing my body to flinch.

"Guys! He's powering up for an attack! Defened!" Ryo suddenly shouted, sounding urgent. The others heard him and backed away from the enemy, their persona's giving aid in their safety.

" **There's no need to be scared. It'll be quick...** " the Shadow mumbled. It suddenly charged a beam towards me, causing me to freeze. Suddenly, I heard Ryo cry out: "Hitomi-senpai!", as an arm wrapped itself around me and swiftly lift me off the ground.

"That was close…!" Ryo sighed with a smile.

Stunned by the whole situation, all I could manage to say was: "What the…?"

"Oh yeah- Ichigo can fly around for safety. Pretty cool, eh? It's like being on a magic carpet ride" Ryo joked, chuckling slightly.

"Now's not really the time for movie references..." I pointed out, a drop of sweat rolling down my jaw. Ryo smiled without a care in the world as Ichigo returned us back to the ground, setting us down up-right. I nodded thanks to Ichigo as Ichigo placed Ryo's device back on his head, covering his eyes once again. I returned my attention back to the enemy and observed the struggle everyone seemed to be going through as Izanagi assisted the others of his own free will. With the amount of damage the Shadow had taken so far, the pixelated armor suddenly broke; the pixel cubes flying around revealing a strange looking baby rested in its core. I flinched in surprise, startled to see the baby figure.

"The shield's down! Attack!" Ryo instructed. I nodded, causing Izanagi to fly towards the inner-Shadow. Needing to get a better perspective, I ran over to Nise and Kanji, who seemed to be in need of some help.

"This thing is pretty tough…! I'm starting to get worn out!" Kanji huffed.

"That's because you wasted most of your energy trying to get rid of the outer shell! Pace yourself, Kanji" Nise instructed.

"Tch. All I need is a folding chair to smack him around with- I can do that for days" Kanji admitted as Take-Mikazuchi dodge an attack. I pointed at Take-Mikazuchi, causing Izanagi to drag him out of the way; the two

"The fu… Why a folding chair?!" Nise asked loudly in confusion.

"Because they're sturdy and light to swing around!" Kanji snapped back, putting a hand to his chest.

"Will you two shut up?! You're distracting me!" Hanamura shouted, frustrated.

"Concentrate!" I ordered, causing them to flinch and look up at their persona's.

" **Why? Don't you want to be at ease?** " the Shadow asked, catching my attention. The Shadow's hollow eyes were staring at me once again with a look of empathy in it's eyes, a shiver crawling down my spin. The Shadow then let out a scream, black like fog charging at us. Startled, I covered my face with my arms while forming an 'x'. The fog had a powerful gust to it, nearly knocking me off my feet, but I managed to stand firm. Once the for went through me, I squirmed under its cold touch and immediately start brushing it off. I noticed that Yukiko, Kanji, Hanamura, and Ryo did the same thing; seeming unaffected by the fog. I suddenly heard the sounds of whimpering and shudders, quickly looking over my shoulder to see Berry and Nise rolling on the ground, their arms wrapped around themselves.

"Nise-kun! Berry!" I cried out as I ran over to them. I knelt down next to Nise and noticed his body shivering, his eyes wide and dark with fear. Berry was also shivering but had her eyes closed.

"What's wrong with them?" I heard Yukiko ask, causing me to look up and see her and Ryo kneel down next to me. Ryo put his eye-gear on and scanned them for a moment before gasping.

"They're paralyzed with fear! You need to snap them out of it!" Ryo explained. Yukiko and I looked at each other and nodded before turning our attention to Nise.

"Sorry, Nise!" Yukiko apologized before the two of us hit him, earning a yelp.

"Come on you, you're braver than this" Ryo cooed caringly as he hit Berry's head, earning a squeak.

"Th-Thanks..." the duo muttered as Yukiko helped Nise sit up, Ryo doing the same for Berry. I stood up and looked over at the Shadow, noticing that the broken shield was starting to repair itself. Wiping the sweat that was starting to form, I pointed at the Shadow, causing Izanagi to charge at the Shadow and managed to strike it; the remaining pixel cubes falling as the baby form cried out.

"Nice! That did a lot of damage, Hitomi-senpai~!" I heard Ryo praise, sweat rolling down my jaw.

" **I… I need proof that I exist… that's why...** " the Shadow began, catching my attention. Once again, it's eyes were focused on me, earning a secret shiver that ran down my back. There it is again…! That hint of desperation in his voice… The baby figure suddenly started levitating, crying out as a light purple mist surrounded it, the room becoming colder and colder. The pixelated blocks started to levitate as well, quickly rebuilding the defence shield. Gritting my teeth, I flicked my fist at the Shadow, causing Izanai to charge at it again. But before Izanagi could draw his weapon, several blocks pinned him down, causing me to gasp and fall to my knees. Noticing this, Hanamura and Jiraiya ran towards Izanagi as Yukiko and Berry knelt down next to me.

"Wh-What's that?" Nise asked, stuttering.

"Ryo! What's going on?!" Hanamura asked as he and Jiraiya continued to try and set Izanagi and myself free.

"I… I don't know! All I know is that it's dangerous… Everyone, back away from it!" Ryo shouted, urgently.

" **I have to kill you!** " the Shadow snapped, the original's voice in it as well. Everyone backed away to where Ryo and I were standing, embracing themselves for what was to come. Hanamura and Jiraya finally managed to break Izanagi free, Jiraiya shortly becoming the new captive. Jiraiya managed to break free, both he and Hanamura running over to us. However, Hanamura had fallen and seemed to have sprained his ankle- leaving him vulnerable to the Shadow. I gasped in surprise by this and ran towards him.

"Hanamura!" I cried out, reaching a hand to him. Suddenly-

* * *

"...ey...Hey, Naru…! Hey, Narukami-chan! Wake up!"

"H-Huh…?" I muttered, my eyes fluttering open. Sitting up, I gently rubbed my eyes and yawned. I looked out in front of me and met with Hanamura's brown eyes, my vision slightly blurry.

"Yeesh, was Berry's work story really that boring?" Hanamura asked, jokingly.

"Boring?! It was my first day of working! I made so many mistakes, it should have been _exciting_!" I heard Berry huff, a slam on the table most likely from her.

"Doing stuff wrong isn't exactly a good thing, Berry..." I heard Yukiko point out.

"W-Work… story?" I repeated as I blinked my eyes rapidly, the scenery slowly becoming clear. It was then that I noticed that all of us were back in the Junes Food Court, sitting where we normally would for a meeting.

Confused, I looked around, muttering, "Wait, how did we…?"

"Hm? Wassup, Narukami-chan?" Nise asked in concern. I looked back over at him and noticed the others were looking at me.

"I… I thought that we were battling the culprit's Shadow… You know, that boy with the strange eyes?" I reminded. Instead of getting a response, everyone seemed to stare at me in confusion.

"What are you talking about? No one appeared on the Midnight Channel, remember?" Nise pointed out after a moment of awkward silence.

"H-Huh?" I stammered, surprised.

"It rained last night, but nobody showed up. So now we're just waiting for the police to find the culprit" Yukiko explained with a smile.

"But… I thought..." I muttered, looking down at my hands.

"You musta been dreaming about what woulda happened if someone _did_ show up on the Midnight Channel, Narukami-senpai" Kanji began, catching my attention. "It's excitin' and all, but it's better this way. With that bruise on your head, you should take it easy."

"I… I guess..." I mumbled, looking at the other's.

"Oh yeah! Didn't you tell me that you watched an action show with Nanako before you went up to your room? Maybe that's what it is" Hanamura guessed. I blinked in realization.

"I… That's true, I did watch an action show…!" I gasped, shocked. "Maybe... it _was_ a dream? But at the same time, it felt so real..."

"Oh, you have those kinds of dreams too?" Ryo chuckled wearily. "I personally get annoyed whenever I have them- they throw off my entire day!"

"Hey hey! Listen and listen up!" Berry suddenly announced, standing up with her right hand in the air, catching our attention. "I want to go to Yuki-chan's Inn!" Berry demanded happily, making joyful gestures as she continued. "Yummy food and hot springs and yukata's! Geisha's! Mount Fuji! Fun fun fun!"

"Yes, it does sound like fun, but maybe another time" Yukiko gently turned down with a weak smile.

"It's tourist season being summer and all" Nise pointed out.

"So that's a no…?"Berry whimpered.

"Maybe later" Yukiko replied as she stroke Berry's head, earning a giggle.

"Let's go to Narukami-chan's place instead" Hanamura suggested with a bright smile, catching my undivided attention.

"That sounds perfect! I'd love to see your place~!" Ryo cooed as he leaned in close to me, causing my heart to skip a beat in surprise.

"We can get Nanako-chan in on the fun too!" Yukiko added, seeming excited.

"Uh, well..." I began, caught off guard by the attention as Ryo learned away with a teasing smile. "Sure, why not? I'm sure she'd like that."

"Let's take it one step further and cook her up a big feast!" Nise added with a smile.

"Nice! Does that mean you guys are really good cooks?" Kanji asked, oblivious to the troubles Hanamura and I had during the school camping trip.

"Um… Yeah! 'Course we are!" Nise and Yukiko replied at the same time with nervous smiles.

"Hey, I'm a pretty good cook too, y'know? What do you say I cook something special for you?" Ryo offered, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Can you cook better than I do?" I replied, tilting my head slightly, causing Ryo to blush as he chuckled.

"Genius!" Berry gasped, standing up once again while placing her hands to her face. "I just had a berry good idea! What do you say we do a curry cook off with everyone?! It can be like a big party for peace returning to our worlds!" Everyone agreed and began to talk ideas for what to talk as we got up and walked towards the grocery department. Agreeing to do curry, Hanamura had me head to the Dojima residence to warn Nanako and clean the place up if needed while he got my ingredients. I thanked him, gave him the money, and headed for the Dojima residence.

When the others arrived, I took the ingredients Hanamura got me and cooked curry. I noticed that everyone was sitting with Nanako instead of cooking like we had all agreed, to which I decided to just make everything. Once I was finished, Ryo helped me serve the food.

"Hey, where's Yukiko-chan?" I asked, taking a seat, noticing the absences of one of our friends. Had she been gone this entire time?

"She got a call and couldn't make it. Apparently her family needed her at the inn to help out, so she had to run home" Nise explained, seeming a little disappointed.

"Aw man, that blows!" Hanamura sighed with a frown.

"Maybe we should celebrate later, then?" I suggested, not wanting to celebrate without everyone here.

"Yeah, that's probably best" Hanamura agreed with a disappointed smile.

"So then… that means the cook off is canceled too?" Ryo asked sadly, pouting. The sad look on his face tore my heart in two, the need to comfort him coming over me.

"Aww! And I was really looking forward to bonding with everyone..." Berry whined, pouting.

"Hey, who made the curry, anyway?" Kanji asked, raising an eyebrow at the plate of curry in front of him. I felt a drop of sweat roll down my jaw, wondering how Kanji didn't notice that I was cooking behind everyone.

"Hitomi-senpai made every single one of them!" Ryo explained with a bright smile, looking my way.

"That's sensei for ya!" Berry beamed, seeming to have cheered up.

"Can we start eating, Big Sis?" Nanako asked, looking eager.

"Yeah. Dig in before it get's cold" I replied with a nod.

"Well, enough with this silly chit-chat!" Nise cheered as he picked up his spoon.

"Let's dig in!" Everyone cheered, shortly taking their first bite.

"Wow, this is good!" Nanako exclaimed, glowing with glee.

"Yeah! Berry good!" Berry agreed, her eyes sparkling.

"I'd say it's pretty average..." Kanji hummed as he continued to eat.

"Yeah, just average" Nise agreed, seeming slightly disappointed.

"R-Really…?" I asked, a bit surprised. "Average, huh…?"

"Don't listen to these dummy heads, Hitomi-senpai! I think that it's the best thing I've ever had in my life!" Ryo butted in, pushing Nise's head back- causing him to nearly choke.

"Ain't that the truth? You have some seriously mad cooking skills!" Hanamura smiled, not all too surprised with my cooking since he had eaten it before. I looked down at my food, picking at it as the other's continued to chat.

"...Hey, something wrong? You look out of it" Hanamura asked, catching my attention.

"...Huh? Oh, it's nothing" I reassured. "I'm sorry, the party ended up not being as exciting as it was originally going to be..."

"Hey, why do you keep apologizin' for stuff? It's fine so don't go stressing out" Kanji said as he patted my head, earning a soft squeak.

"But even though we gotta postpone the celebration for having peace back in our town… I'm still stoked we did it" Hanamura sighed as he sat back, his arms supporting him up.

"Yeah… It's finally over" I agreed.

"We've been through so much. I'll be kinda nice to go back to our normal routine" Nise remarked as he lied down on the ground.

"Yeah, same here. I just wanna forget about all that stuff" Ryo agreed with a gentle smile, closing his eyes.

"We're all gonna go our separate ways..." Berry hummed as she twiddled with her hair.

"I guess the group's breaking up..." Kanji hummed.

"...No" I began, catching their attention. "Let's keep meeting up."

"Yeah, good plan!" Hanamura chuckled, his smile bright.

"Yeah! It sounds like a berry good plan to me!" Nise joked, causing the others to laugh.

"Hey! That's my thing!" Berry squeaked, causing the laughter to grow louder. Even though not everyone was there to enjoy the evening, we all had fun.

* * *

 _Sunday, August 28th_ | _Afternoon_

After the failed cook off, the days seemed to have blown past me. Before I could even blink and wrap my head around everything, it was already August. Yukiko kept on canceling out on us, postponing the celebration party. No one really minded since things like that happens. But I was a bit concerned that she was overworking herself.

Earlier this morning, I had called everyone to do a meetup since we haven't really gotten together in a while… Or at least, I had thought so. I wasn't entirely sure. But everyone, except for Berry who had returned to the T.V world, managed to come. Everyone bought something to munch or drink while we talked. I had some ice lemon tea, my favorite drink ever. But… For some reason, I couldn't taste it...

"So hey, anything new going on with the case?" Kanji asked, finishing his meal.

"I haven't heard anything since they caught that boy a while back" Hanamura said as he took a sip of his drink.

"No one even talks about it anymore. It's like everyone's forgotten it ever even happened" Ryo sighed, resting his head in the palm of his hand.

"I'm so sorry, I know the celebration party keeps getting postponed because of me" Yukiko apologized.

"It's okay, it's not your fault! Everyone's got their thing they gotta do" Nise reassured.

"Yeah, I'm swamped helping out my old man" Hanamura sighed, scratching the back of his head. I nodded slightly in agreement, having some sort of… memory of Hanamura constantly turning me down to meet up due to work...

"Oh geez!" Yukiko suddenly exclaimed, looking at her cell phone. "I really should get going now." I blinked in surprise as Yukiko quickly put her cell phone away and grabbed her tray.

"See you later, okay?" Yukiko said as she quickly stood up and walked off.

"Sure, see you later!" Nise called out.

"See ya!" the other's called out. We all watched Yukiko leave in silence, something cold growing within me.

"Her inn must be pretty busy..." Hanamura thought out loud, to no one in particular.

"...I'm glad things are getting back to normal" I pointed out, finding the peaceful time extremely relaxing. I looked back at the others, just in time to see them all nodding in agreement.

"Man, summer vacation's almost over and we never got the chance to go to the beach!" Nise complained. "Well, I guess there's always next year, right?"

"Next year…?" I repeated, a cold shiver running down my body.

"That won't work, Nise..." Hanamura reminded.

"Oh, right… I-I forgot..." Nise stuttered, looking down at his hands.

"You won't be here. You're leaving us next year, aren't you..." Ryo sighed, sounding depressed. I flinched in surprise and blinked nervously at him.

"Huh? Oh… Y-Yeah…." I muttered in reply.

"Uh, so then…! About that homework we were supposed to be doing over the summer!" Nise chuckled nervously, changing the subject. He and the other began to discuss about the summer homework, but my mind was elsewhere. I hadn't told Ryo, Kanji, nor Berry that I was only staying for this year… So how did Ryo know? Did I tell him myself…? If so… When?

* * *

Saturday, September 24th | _Early Morning..._

"What, is this for real?!" Hanamura exclaimed, my body becoming colder than the chilled weather.

Just like before, the days had gone by without me even realizing. Before I knew it, we were back in school and rumors started to spread about Ryo moving to return to the showbiz industry. Hanamura and I couldn't believe it and rushed to Marukyu, only to see a piece of paper stuck on the door that confirmed it...

"So the rumors about him moving were true, then..." Hanamura sighed as he scratched his head. He then looked at me and asked, "Did Ryo say anything to you about this?"

"No, not a thing..." I replied as I quickly pulled out my phone, dialing Ryo's phone number. There's no way he could have just left… There's no way…! Placing the phone to my ear, I listened to the hopeful sound of the phone ringing, but was shortly cut off by a robotic voice telling me he wasn't available.

"No answer…?" I hummed, my stomach seeming to turn.

"...I thought something might be up. He hasn't been at our group thing in a while" I sighed. Our group meetings have been rather empty lately, Ryo and Yukiko now missing from our group of seven- or six really, since Berry went back to her world.

"Man, this sucks. I never got to learn his secret in being a lady's man from him. I can't believe he took off without telling us anything!" Hanamura sighed as he turned around, hands in his pockets, ready to leave for school.

"I'm sure… he had a reason" I muttered, unable to look away from the word "moved" that was printed on the white paper.

"No, it just goes to show that the people who were _actually_ our friends was us" Hanamura snapped softly, seeming annoyed.

"Wha…?" I gasped, turning around.

"Let's go!" Hanamura ushered as he began to walk towards the school without me. I felt sweat rolling down my face as I began to follow after him.

First Ryo...

* * *

Tuesday, October 4th | _After School..._

Ten days had passed since Ryo left… Nothing seemed to have made sense to me. Nothing at school made sense and I couldn't ask Yukiko for help since she had to help out at the inn. Something cold had been growing in my stomach in the few short minutes that felt like days, I was started to freak out and had to start taking a larger dosage of my PTSD medication.

Things have started to go crazy… Right as school ended, I headed straight to Aiya's to relax. Maybe buy some food… Not that I would be able to taste it. Maybe I could beat the Mega Beef Bowl now...

When I arrived at Aiya's my hand barely touched the handle when I noticed to familiar shapes inside.

"We keep meeting up to go over those murders, but there's nothing to talk about anymore!" I heard Kanji groan in annoyance.

"Yeah, that's a drag" the person sitting next to him, Naoki agreed.

"I gotta say... Talking things out and having to be nice about it is really exhausting" Kanji sighed, his shadow shifting.

"You sound like an old married couple that's bored of each other" Naoki teased, causing Kanji to spit out whatever he was eating or drinking.

"Look you douche! I wanted some serious advice not a smart ass response!" Kanji snapped.

"Haha, oops! My bad" Naoki laughed. The sound of Naoki's laughter seemed to have squeezed my heart in a painful way, feeling somewhat betrayed… I slowly dropped my hand from the handle and begin to walk away, deciding to walk to the Dojima Residence.

Now Kanji isn't going to be attending the group meetings…? This can't be real… Why is this happening?

* * *

Thursday, October 13th | _After School..._

"...And that's why I don't like using public bathrooms" Hanamura sighed. I stared blankly at the hallway ahead of me, the blobs of black and gray seeming to be students that attended the school and not Shadows like I had first thought. The started appearing a few days ago after I overheard Kanji and Naoki at Aiya. Hanamura and I, both having nothing to do, decided to walk around and look for Nise and Yukiko who left faster than usual.

"Oh, hey! There they are!" Hanamura pointed, my eyes lazily following the direction of his finger. There, I noticed Chou, Kou, Yukiko, and Nise in the library. The other students and bookshelves looked like blobs of colors to me, the books and papers in front of the group were all meshed together.

"...What are they doing?" I asked, not understanding what I was seeing.

"Studying for exams" Hanamura replied, sounding as if the question was a dumb one. "Hey! Let's ask Yukiko if we can borrow her notes she took in class!" Hanamura chuckled as he began to walk inside the library, not even checking if I was tagging along. I just stared at him as he suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Hm? Wassup? Is something wrong?" Hanamura asked.

"...Nothing" I replied, looking down at my feet.

"You sure?" Hanamura asked, earning a nod in reply. "Okay, whatever. I'll lend ya whatever I get later, okay?" Hearing the sound of Hanamura walking away from me, I looked up and notice that everything was now gray and blurry. But I didn't really care… I can still see. Without much thought, I turned around and began to walk to the Dojima residence. I felt my eyes sting as my vision got worse, my hands tightening into fists as my feet dragged me.

* * *

Friday, November 18 | _After School..._

I stared blankly at my iPhone, slowly scanning the message that Nise had sent me. It was a simple message. But I didn't want to read it. I already knew what it was going to say. 36 days had passed since I walked to the Dojima residence by myself instead of with Hanamura. They felt as if they had just gone by all at once with one blink that lead me here. Memories of loneliness and gray filled my mind, clashing with other memories. There was one memory in particular that made my chest hurt… One of where Hanamura was smiling brightly as usual with pink cheeks. But… It wasn't directed at me or any of our friends...

I had asked everyone to arrive to the secret headquarters to discuss the recent reveal of the boy whom I had thought that we were fighting that day. The news revealed him to be Mitsuo Kubo, a third year who attended Rangarajan High in Okina City. He admitted to killing Mayumi Yamano, Saki Konishi, and Konishi Morooka. The reason was that he wanted to be a "hero" of some sorts… Any other detail about him wasn't released to the public. Learning so much about the killer, I wanted to hear what everyone thought. But, no one came… Not even Nise, who used to always come...

"Nise-kun too..." I whispered, running my hands through my hair.

Why…?! Why is this happening…?! We don't _need_ the murder cases to be able to hang out with each other! Where did everyone who I had bonded with go…? Why aren't we all happy that we got the peaceful town back to it's tranquil self?! Why… Why am I all alone now…?

"No one's coming today?" I heard Hanamura ask, causing me to look up at him through my hair. He approached me with a slightly worried smile on his face- a smile that would have eased my heart a bit, but it only increased the pain...

"No..." I replied bluntly, resting my chin to the table.

"Huh… Well, sorry Narukami-chan, but I got to work-" Hanamura began.

"What about Berry?" I interrupted, not looking up at him. "You… You think she's okay?"

"Huh?" was all Hanamura could manage.

After a short moment of silence, I looked up at him and asked. "...Don't you ever think about going inside the T.V again?" Hanamura blinked in surprise by my question before sighing.

"Nah, not me. I'm done with that" Hanamura replied simply with a shrug as he pulled out his iPhone. "We got some seriously bigger fish to fry, bruh. We got to start thinking about college and stuff." I stared at Hanamura's thumb as it slid and tapped on the screen, the coldness in my stomach building up to the point that I felt sick.

"So, what are you going to do about entrance exams?" Hanamura asked as he began to message someone, a wide smile on his face. My heart seemed to tighten at his smile, causing me to look away in slight pain.

"...I don't know yet" I mumbled.

"You sure that's smart? Shouldn't you start thinking about that now? So you'll know what you're doing when you head back to your old school?" Hanamura asked, causing my heart to stop as the world became even grayer than before. Everything was so cold… It felt like I was suddenly thrown into a freezer…!

"Yikes! I really gotta get back to work!" Hanamura suddenly yelped, slowly putting his iPhone away as if he didn't want to put it away. "Later-"

"So this is how it ends?!" I shouted as I stood up, interrupting Hanamura.

"H-Huh?" stuttered, surprised by my raised voice. I was rather surprised myself- it had been many years since I've shouted at a person. I stared at Hanamura as the coldness rushed to my brain, the blobs of colors who I was people turning to stare at me.

"Hanamura… I…! I'm scared!" I admitted shyly, my face heating up as my eyes blurred with hot tears. "It's not even spring yet and already I've lost so many of you! Where did all my friends go?! Sometimes it even feels like days pass me just by blinking!" Terrified, I hugged myself to try and calm my shivering body.

"I'm scared! Please…! Give me an answer as to why this is happening…? _Why_ is this happening…?" I whimpered, unable to hold in my fear.

"N-Narukami-chan, you're making a scene…! You're being a bother to the other customers…!" Hanamura shushed, grabbing me by the shoulders. My eyes widened at Hanamura's words, my remaining body heat rushing towards Hanamura's surprisingly cold hands.

"...a bother?" I repeated softly. I looked up at him as I felt burning liquid roll down my cheeks, Hanamura's brow orbs blinking in surprise. "So that's what I am to you now…? A _bother_?"

"T-That's not what I-" Hanamura began, his eyes widening.

"First you…" I began, lowering my head once again as frustration and confusion began to warm my body. "First you get a new girlfriend without ever introducing me or the others to her… Then you start skipping out on the group meet ups to be with her…! And now- you can't even have a normal conversation with someone without texting her while _talking_! I… I thought that I meant something to you guys…! Am I really so unimportant to you all that… That when I'm gone, nothing will change? Would it have been better if… I hadn't even arrived?"

"Narukami-chan, don't talk like that! I never said-"

"Quiet!" I sobbed loudly, unable to hold it in. Hanamura flinched, his surprised expression frozen on him.

There's no _way_ any of this is real…! _None_ of this could be real! Where did my friends go?! How did… How did it come to this?! Why can't we have been together like when we were fighting Kubo-?!

I suddenly looked up in realization, my tears stopping form this action. That's it… The midnight channel! I have been so focused on the events that have been occurring that I haven't been able to check it! I didn't even try to do anything in the evenings besides from cooking Nanako food and then going to sleep.

Shaking my shoulders away from Hanamura, becoming free, I felt my body heat up as I dried my watery eyes.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this… I'm going back to the real world!" I growled, dashing off to the Dojima residence.

* * *

 _Evening..._

I sat nervously on the blue- or rather gray- couch in my room, staring intently at the television screen. The current time was 11:59- 30 seconds until midnight. As I impatiently waited, my legs tapped the floor vigorously, the cold blood rushing through my veins.

Once the clock struck midnight, I leaned forward to make sure that I could truly see when it came on. I held my breath and waited… But after 20 seconds of blankness, I gasped.

"Why…?!" I muttered, my hands tightening. "Why is nothing appearing?!" Clicking my tongue, I jumped off of the couch, stepped on and off of the coffee table, and finally slammed my hand to the television. It was ice cold and solid.

"What…?! Why not?!" I exclaimed, repeatedly smacking the screen.

" **I… am nothing.** "

Gasping, I looked over to the left then right, locking eyes with familiar hollow, golden orbs. It was hiding in the Shadows, keeping itself hidden from me.

"Y-You're…! You're a Shadow! But why?!" I exclaimed, taking a step away from it. I couldn't help but feel relieved glad that I could see color once again, even if it belonged to a Shadow.

" **Everything… is nothing**."

"What's it doing on this side?!" I asked as I held my trembling body.

" **Friendship is nothing but an illusion… You're on your own and you're** _ **empty**_ **.** "

I flinched in surprise by the Shadow's words and shook my head furiously, shouting- "Shut up! I'm _not_ empty! Friendship is _not_ an illusion!" Even though this might not be real… I still felt our bond strong for a few months before…! I gasped in surprise as I looked down at my hands, noticing how violently they were trembling.

"S-Stop it!" I whispered to myself as I kissed my hands, summoning the strength to call Izanagi. If the Shadow can be in this world, then I can summon my persona's… I need to get rid of him to protect the others!

"Persona!" I called out as a familiar glowing card descended in front of me. I shortly gasp, noticing that my arcana- the Fool- was missing!

"Wh-What?! Where's my arcana?!" I muttered to myself, feeling sweat roll down my face.

" **You have no bonds…** _ **You**_ **have nothing at all** " the Shadow continued as I began to summon over and over Izanagi. The Shadow soon exited the Shadows, revealing itself to be… The baby figure that was rested within the Pixelated soldier from that dream! No- it wasn't a dream. If this thing is here with me now, then _this_ was the dream. The fighting earlier _was real_ …!

" **Empty…** _ **You**_ **are just like me… We have wasted our lives on things that don't truly give us happiness….** "

"Per...sona…!" I huffed, feeling the energy being sucked out of me. Weak from the numerous failed attempts, I took a lazy step back from the Shadow that was approaching me.

"Enough, please…! You're wrong…!" I cried out, softly; fear engulfing my body. The Shadow raced towards me, and began choking me by the neck; my reaction far too slow to have even turn my head for the door. The Shadow's grip around my neck was tight, more strength that a rope ever would while holding it's suicidal victim. I quickly felt my body turning numb, the burning heat of frustration gone as the Shadow's frostbite-like fingers choked me. I couldn't breath, my vision quickly going blurry as the Shadow's color began to fade. At this rate… I won't be able to...

"HITOMI! Give me your hand! PLEASE!"

I looked up at the ceiling, the bland gray wall vanishing as white light engulfed my vision, a caring hand reaching out for me. It seemed so familiar… And that voice, too… Ah.

That's right.

I'm not…

alone…

Reaching for the hand, it's warm fingers wrapped itself around my wrist, causing my eyelids to nearly fall instinctively; the familiar sound of the owner's voice ringing in my ears.

3rd POV

Yosuke groaned madly as he pulled Hitomi Narukami out of the center from the Shadow's defence shield, quickly wrapping his arms around the silver haired girl's body. Falling backwards from the lack of space, Jiraiya managed to catch Yosuke and the girl, slowly flying towards safety. Hitomi slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Yosuke, their eyes locking instantly.

"Holy shit, Hitomi! Are you alright?!" Yosuke asked as large droplets of sweat fell from his face. Hitomi's hand suddenly squeezed Yosuke's, causing him to wince. He had done a lot of climbing just to get Hitomi out of danger, Jiraiya protecting his master as he did so. Yosuke's hands stung a bit from Hitomi's actions, but Yosuke focused more on it meaning that she was in pain rather than _his_ pain. After all, it was thanks to hitomi that Yosuke was even _alive_.

After breaking Izanagi free from the blocks that were trying to drag him down, Yosuke got hurt and injured his ankle a little. It wasn't anything major- but it sprained for a mere second, causing him to fall to the ground. Before Yosuke could get hurt by the flying large pixel cube, Hitomi hurled herself in front of him- causing the side of her head where she was injured from the bullying to be stabbed by a corner of the pixel cube. Hitomi, for the first time, passed out immediately after getting hurt; blood even spraying from her injury. Yosuke's heart seemed to have stopped as time slowed down, Hitomi's eyes slowly closing as the drop of bloods fell to the ground. For some reason, the fear of losing Hitomi had surprisingly overcome Yosuke, and when the pixel cube took Hitomi's body to it's center; Yosuke freaked out. He took control and made their main objective to save their friend- gradually becoming more personal and start climbing the Shadow before him just to save her while the others focused on getting rid of the pixel cubes.

Hitomi, having come back from the nightmare, wanted to confirm that it was really Yosuke who she was touching. The warmth of his hands and the gentle yet rough feel felt surprisingly comforting to her… She almost didn't want to let go. That feeling alone was enough to let her know that it was real. She had woken up.

"Yosuke..." Hitomi muttered in a daze, unaware that she had lost a rather large amount of blood that seemed to have stop bleeding for some reason, causing Yosuke's heart to flutter in surprise to hear his first name to be uttered from his partner.

"Thank you…!" Hitomi muttered as she closed her newly watering eyes for a moment, painful shock waves spreading from her head down. Yosuke blushed, complete startled by the emotions Hitomi was showing to him. It was the first time that her voice had matched her face…!

Jiraiya soon reached the others near the entrance of the room and set his master and Hitomi down on the ground with utmost care.

"Narukami!" Nise called out, causing the other's to turn their attention towards their leader and comrade. Many of them ran to the doors where Jiraiya the duo.

"Yo, senpai! You okay?!" Kanji asked as he ran towards his friends, dropping down next to Hitomi and Yosuke.

"Waaaah! Sensei, you're baaaaccck!" Berry wailed as she helped Hitomi sit up.

"I'm glad you're safe!" Yukiko smiled as she grabbed Hitomi's hand.

"Is everything okay? Are you hurt?" Ryo asked worriedly, his eyes wide with worry as he grabbed Hitomi's other hand, helping her stand up. Hitomi looked at her friends, observing their concerned and relieved expression.

"...I'm fine" Hitomi reassured, her lips twitching a little that it almost made it look as if she was smiling a little, startling her friends. "I'm sorry to have worried you all. But, I'm back now… I'm back for _real_." The other's blinked, snapping out of their trance from Hitomi's possible smile, confused to what Hitomi meant.

Hitomi took a deep breath and turned around, facing the Shadow and instructed, "Let's take him out! I'm going to teach this guy a lesson…!" The others nodded in agreement, summoning their persona's to fly back towards them as Hitomi summoned Izanagi. Hitomi extended her hand, causing Izanagi and the other's to charge at the Shadow, destroying pixel after pixel. Sadly, it wasn't enough as the Shadow let out a baby's scream, causing the cubes to rebuild themselves and shortly the shield.

"Damnit, not again…! He's rebuilding his defences!" Nise sighed, nervous sweat rolling down his body.

"Not on my watch!" Kanji growled, slamming his fist and palm together, causing Take-Mikazuchi to physically hold up a pixel cube- stopping it and several others from rebuilding the shield. The others, besides from Izanagi and Ichigo, began to do the same- leaving an open space for Hitomi to attack.

"Go on! Now's your chance, Hitomi-senpai!" Ryo encouraged, grabbing Hitomi's shoulder and giving her an encouraging shake. The action bothered Yosuke a bit more than usual, worried that even the slightest shake would damage Hitomi in some way...

"Yeah! Teach 'im a lesson... or whatever you said!" Kanji added, trying to make sense of what Hitomi said.

"Please, get that guy!" Yukiko pleaded, her and Nise nodding at her.

"You can do it Sensei!" Berry encouraged, not even a doubt in her bear soul.

"I'll even let you take the final blow!" Yosuke added, pretending to do a punch. Hitomi closed her eyes and took a few steps forward, recalling all the information she had gathered from the nightmare. Nothing regarding her friends was real- although the one about public bathrooms was one she was certain was true- and knew it. However, everything regarding the culprit _must_ be true… After all, he was caught in that world. Hitomi looked at the Shadow dead in the eye. This was, without a doubt, Mitsuo Kubo's Shadow.

"I know you. You're Mitsuo Kubo…" Hitomi began, surprising the others. "You want to be a hero- to make a name for yourself so that you won't be forgotten. But sadly… You're just too immature to handle the real world. You hide behind your games, for one..."

The other blinked in surprise by Hitomi's words, wondering if she gained more information about Kubo- who they assume is the boy- while inside the Shadow.

"You say that the two of us are the same. But-" Hitomi began, sharply looking up at the Shadow, locking eyes with it's hollow orbs and pointing at it. "-I am far… from _empty_!" Suddenly, blue flames surrounded Hitomi, a strong breeze suddenly blowing over them all. Nise felt his blood pumping in excitement, sensing power surrounding Hitomi. Izanagi, feeling stronger than ever, rushed towards the Shadow- causing it to spew out a strong gust of green wind.

With a sharp inhale, Hitomi quickly crushed a card that fell in front of her, crying out- "Makami!" Izanagi disappeared just before getting hit from the wind, as a paper like dog replaced Izanagi's place- the wind doing no damage to it. Makami took a deep breath and spewed out a large fireball at the Shadow, a blue shield sadly disintegrating it- leaving smaller flames to fly down.

A new card suddenly descended down in front of Hitomi, causing her to smash it and call out- "King Frost!" A large white and golden, almost tank like creature, with a white metal wig and a golden crown on top of it's head and a specter in its left hand fell to the ground with a menacing grin on it's face. Aiming the specter at the Shadow, large icicles started shooting from the top. Sadly, the icicles were crushed upon contact with the blue shield.

Clicking her tongue in slight annoyance, Hitomi smashed a new card. "High Pixie!" This time, a small human like figure the size of a pixie appeared; wearing silver chest armor while wearing a purple outfit that complemented her blue eyes, hair, and wings. High Pixie extended its arms towards the Shadow, powerful blue lightning striking down- but only to be blocked off by the shield once again. The Shadow cried in it's baby voice and fired a fireball at the group.

Sighing, Hitomi smashed a new card. "Pyro Jack!" Pyro Jack laughed maniacally as his lantern glowed bright, absorbing the fireball with little effort. Pyo Jack laughed mockingly, causing the Shadow to let out an ear-piercing cry as lighting and ice shot towards the group.

"Yamata no Orochi!" Hitomi called out quickly, the 8 headed snake blocking the spells with no effort.

"Whoa, how many persona's has she been piling up…?!" Hanamura exclaimed softly in surprise, amazed to see so many different persona's show up from one person.

"I never thought that someone could have more than just one _persona_ …! Hitomi-senpai's amazing!" Ryo exclaimed, completely awestruck as his heart thumped wildly in his chest. Hanamura bit his lower lip as a bead of sweat rolled down his jaw, worried for his partner and was slightly jealous of her strong power.

Sighing, Hitomi smashed a new card. "Leanan Sidhe!" A woman dressed in a fitting purple dress and cape with pointy elf-like ears appeared next to the Shadow and blew a mysterious blue air into its ear, causing the Shadow to cry out which forced the others' persona's to fly back. This gave the Shadow the chance to rebuild his defenses, but not for long.

"Rakshasa!" Hitomi called out as she smashed another card, Rakshasa quickly pulling out it's sword and slashing several pixel cubes out of the way. Soon, the remaining cubes charged towards Rakshasa.

"Aramitama!" Hitomi huffed, feeling her strength starting to fail. Aramitama growled with anger as it puffed out what could be described as its torso, casting a shield which protected everyone from the flying cubes.

Crying in near defeat, overwhelmed by the power of the silver haired human in front of it, Hitomi sighed and whispered: "It's over." With one last card, Hitomi silently summoned Izanagi who flew towards the Shadow with gusto- slicing the Shadow in half with no hesitation. The Shadow let out a final scream before it turned back into Mitsuo's appearance, dropping to the ground. Hitomi withdrew Izanagi, her breathing silent but heavy.

"Whoa…!" Nise exclaimed, in awe at the great power that his leader had.

"God damn…! She's so badass…!" Kanji exclaimed, wanting to challenge Hitomi; shortly giving him a boost of respect for the upperclassman to have him consider hitting a girl. With a sigh, Hitomi fell to her knees, causing Yosuke to immediately drop down and catch her.

"Whoa, hey!" Yosuke exclaimed, kneeling down besides her. Holding her, he noticed that she was practically trembling in exhaustion. "You idiot, you've been pushing yourself too hard!" Yosuke suddenly blinked as he felt something wet drip on his fingers next to Hitomi's right shoulder. Pulling Hitomi close to him, he looked at his hand and felt his heart stop. Blood.

"Quick- I need a handkerchief or something to stop Narukami-chan's bleeding!" Yosuke shouted, causing the others to starts digging through their pockets. Yosuke gently brushed Hitomi's hair out of her face, revealing a shallow and small triangle-shaped puncture wound at the side of her head. Thankfully, it wasn't anything too life-threatening by the looks of it, but the blood streams flowing from Hitomi's head seemed to have acted as a dagger and stab Yosuke's heart.

 _This wouldn't have happened if this idiot didn't have to play hero for me…!_ Yosuke thought to himself as his eyes stung, tears beginning to well up.

Yosuke felt Hitomi's head shift as she slowly looked over at him, muttering: "...Hitomi."

"Huh?" Yosuke muttered, blinking the tears away.

"Just call me… Hitomi like you did earlier… Yosuke-kun" Hitomi whispered as she looked over at him with shy eyes and pink cheeks.

"U-Uh…!" Yosuke stammered softly, his face becoming red. Hitomi, noticing the red color, looked away shyly. Yosuke felt his heart skip a beat and her shyness, preferring this _much_ over her "heroic" personality...

"Heh. Sounds good…. Hitomi-chan" Yosuke whispered in Hitomi's ear, causing her face to turn red. Yukiko, finally managing to pull out a handkerchief, dropped down next to Hitomi and began treating her wound as Berry acted as a comforting pillow of sorts. The guys looked at each other and nodded as Yosuke stood up, all thinking the same thing. The four all walked over to Mitsuo, and looked down at him.

"Ugh…" Mitsuo groaned, slowly opening his eyes. Noticing the boys looking down at him with cold eyes sent a shiver down his spine, causing him to sit up.

"Finally awake, huh? You've been a major pain in our ass" Yosuke growled, his eyes looking more deadly than the others.

"What the...? Wh-Who the hell are you guys!?" Mitsuo asked, a clear tone of fear in his voice.

"We came to catch your scrawny ass!" Kanji snapped, catching Mitsuo's attention.

"The police are after you. They think _you're_ the one who killed King Moron and the other two" Yosuke began to explain as he bent down, his hands on his hips, and glared at Mitsuo. "So...? Are _you_ the killer?"

"All the cases… All on me..." Mitsuo muttered, shortly laughing maniacally. A bit caught off guard, Hanamura stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's right, _I_ did it!" Mitsuo laughed, patting his chest with a certain type of pride.

"You piece of shit!" Kanji shouted, anger boiling within his veins.

"And not just that bastard Morooka… That stupid announcer and the Konishi bitch, too! I killed all of them! It was me!" Mitsuo shouted, his face practically screaming in a certain emotion that the others couldn't see, making the boys all want to knock some sense into him.

"Ahhh! L-Look at the Shadow!" Berry suddenly screamed, causing the boys to look over to where the Shadow had fell. They saw the Shadow's body become bright, pieces of it quickly disappearing in a light blue light. They all gasped in surprise, unaware that Shadow's could vanish without turning into a persona.

"Wh-Where did it go!?" Ryo asked to no one in particular.

"What's going on...?" Nise shuddered, feeling scared. Something about seeing one's Shadow disappear without being accepted… Scared him for some reason.

"Ha… Hahaha…! It's gone… That frickin' monster disappeared…!" Mitsuo laughed dryly, his breathing starting to turn heavy. "Take that, son of a bitch…" With a groan, Mitsuo lost consciousness and fell backward.

"H-Hey!" Nise stammered, worried for the boy. Ryo knelt down with a sigh and touched the side of Mitsuo's neck.

"He's exhausted… We need to hurry and get him out of here" Ryo instructed as he stood up. The others nodded and looked over to Hitomi. Hitomi's face was drenched in sweat and blood, her body trembling as Yukiko tried to stop the bleeding. Ryo walked over to Hitomi and gently picked her up, Yukiko continuing to put pressureto Hitomi's wound. With that, Kanji and Nise picked up Mitsuo and the group slowly began to make their way back.

* * *

After returning to Junes, Kanji and Nise placed Mitsuo down on the ground as Yosuke ran to the cashier to grab the first aid kit. Once retrieved, Yosuke ran to Yukiko- about to hand it to her- when Ryo took instead and immediately began to treat Hitomi's wounds. Yosuke was a bit angry at the motion, but decided to let it go since Ryo seemed to have a good understanding of the medical field.

"Ugh… Huh? Where…. am I...?" Mitsuo groaned, gaining consciousness once again. Looking around, he noticed that Kanji, Nise, Yosuke, and Berry were watching over him while Ryo and Yukiko tended to Hitomi's wounds- who was silently whimpering, her back pressed up to the shelf behind her. Sitting up, Mitsuo groaned once again, gripping his head.

"Why… am I here...? What the hell are you guys...?" Mitsuo asked with a shaky breath. "S-Stop it… Why did the TV…? N-Nngh…"

"Hey…" Nise sighed, worried and slightly unamused by Mitsuo's pain.

"You seem confused from everything that happened. But we have a bunch of questions for you. First off, why did you do all this!? Answer in ten words or less!" Berry instructed, pointing a paw at Mitsuo.

"Haha… What the hell? Is that a costume...? Haha, what a loser...Get outta my face, you _freak_ …" Mitsuo growled and laughed, finding Berry's suit hysterical and ridiculous looking.

"F-Freak!?" Berry squeaked, infuriated that such a cute creature such as herself was called a "freak" so effortlessly. "First you reply with fifteen words instead of ten, then you insult me?! Grrr!"

"Hold it, Berry. You're not helping" Yosuke sighed, not wanting to have to deal with _two_ nuisances at once.

Looking over at Mitsuo, Yosuke asked: "Did you really do it?"

"Get off my back… I already told you… _I_ did it…" Mitsuo panted in reply.

"Why, man...? How could you do something like that?" Nise asked, appalled. "Three people are _dead_ because of you…!" Mitsuo simply began to laugh, his voice dry like sandpaper.

"Everyone's talking about it, right? It's a huge deal… and I did it! _All_ of it! All by myself...!" Mitsuo cackled.

"You just wanted the attention...?" Hanamura asked softly, as if trying to make sense of the boy's words.

"The why did you target me and the others? How did you kidnap us?" Yukiko asked as she stood up and joined the others, Hitomi's wounds all patched up thanks to Ryo.

"Whoa… Look who it is…! Haha, hey Yuki… After all this time… _now_ you wanna talk to me?" Mitsuo snarled, sounding insulted yet pleased. "Haha… What _bullshit_."

"Answer me! If you held a grudge against me, that's fine… But why the _others_!?" Yukiko snapped, angry as she recalled all the danger Hitomi, Nise and the others have been through because of the murder cases.

"Ha… Haha, what a joke… You're so desperate it hurts… I didn't care who I attacked… Everyone _pisses_ me off…" Mitsuo laughed, the sandpaper-like tone back in his voice. This seemed to have pushed the last of Yosuke's button's, causing him to twitch as he took a step forward.

"You _what_...? You gotta be… kidding me...! You killed Senpai over _nothing_!?" Yosuke began, his eyes becoming fierce with anger and hatred. Never before had he been so angry in his life… To think: his first love's killer was a selfish _boy_ who only used her death as a way to become noticed by people.

" **You son of a bitch!** " Yosuke roared, punching Mitsuo across the face. Yukiko and Berry squeaked in surprise as Nise pulled Yosuke back from Mitsuo, who slowly sat back up after smacking into the floor. Yosuke bit his lip, suppressing a sob as his eyes well up with tears.

"I hope you're ready to get what's comin' to you…" Kanji growled, grabbing Mitsuo by the collar and lifting him up the ground.

"What, you gonna kill me?" Mitsuo chuckled, seeming amused as his right eye (where Yosuke had punched) began to swell.

"Kanji-kun!?" Yukiko squeaked, becoming afraid. Kanji clicked his tongue in annoyance, raising an eyebrow which made him appear menacing.

"Kill you…? It ain't gonna be that easy, you piece of the _shit_. What you did can never be taken back" Kanji began as his grip around Mitsuo's collar tightened. "No, you're gonna own up to your crimes and pay for what you did. You ain't gonna be allowed to kick the bucket until you understand _exactly_ what it is you've done!" With a grunt, Kanji dropped Mitsuo, causing him to shudder.

"Why, damnit…? Why did she have to die because of this bastard…?" Yosuke mumbled with a shuddered voice, looking away as he blinked his tears away. Hitomi, who had been under the caring surveillance of Ryo, looked up at Mitsuo.

"Mitsuo Kubo… 3rd year of Rangarajan High in Okina City..." she began , catching everyone's attention. "People… are humans, too. You have to… understand that. If all you do is hide in the Shadows, wishing for someone to take heed of your presence… No one will _actually_ notice you." The others blinked in surprise at Hitomi's information, unaware that she had learned several things about Mitsuo in the alternate world when the news had posted information about him.

"I can… Tell quite a bit about you, senpai…" Hitomi continued. "I can tell that you wanted to be seen and heard… You didn't want to be alone… But you're a gamer and had no proper knowledge of actually becoming friends with people… So, like a 'hero' in a game, you… You fought the secret bosses and obtained their power: fame. However… You did it in the wrong way, and now..." With Ryo's help, Hitomi stood up and look down onto Mitsuo, her eyes glazed.

"...You'll be paying for your crimes" she whispered, making her words seem much more menacing than she had intended. Mitsuo stared at Hitomi with wide eyes, his eyes for the first time brimming with color, revealing that he had dark brown eyes- not black. There was a moment of silence as Hitomi placed a hand to her forehead, causing Ryo to touch her cheek to see if she had a fever or whatnot.

"Dude… The cops" Kanji began, catching everyone's attention.

"Huh?" Yosuke answered, confused.

"What're you waiting for!? _Call_ the damn police!" Kanji snapped.

"Y-Yeah...You're right…" Yosuke agreed, still looking hurt. Hitomi felt her heart pang in sympathy as Yosuke pulled out her iPhone while walking out of the building, calling the police as instructed.

* * *

Once the police had came and arrested Mitsuo, the group walked off to their meeting table; tired from their battle. With the information that they had learned, no one was in a particularly good mood. Even Kanji and Nise, the two boys who always tended to eat whenever they got the chance, didn't feel hungry. There was a sorrowful silence in the air, most of the group staring at Hitomi or Hanamura. Both were hurt at the moment- Hanamura with his mental pain and Hitomi with her physical pain.

"At least Adachi-san seemed happy…" Hitomi commented, breaking the silence that surrounded everyone.

"Well, I guess this means our work is done…" Yosuke muttered, resting his head with the palm of his hand.

"He did it all to draw attention… I just can't get my head around that" Nise sighed. "It's just... _wrong_. I mean, not that it would've been okay if he'd had a _better_ reason…"

"I know… Don't worry" Yosuke sighed, closing his eyes as he sensed Nise's slight attempt at comforting Yosuke.

"It's finally over… Let's leave the rest to the police" Ryo suggested, smiling a little at Hitomi. He was glad that Hitomi wouldn't be caught up in any more danger.

"My world will be peaceful again now" Berry sighed happily, placing a hand to her chest.

"Yeah. I'm happy for you. We really went through a lot…" Yukiko sighed dreamily, glad that everything was over now. Plus, with the cases out of the way, she would be able to get closer to Nise and try to...

"Like scoring with guys?" Berry asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, come on...! Will you _ever_ let it go?" Yukiko asked, her left eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"What...? _Scoring_ with _guys_?" Ryo asked teasingly, slightly surprised to hear that Yukiko was the originator. He thought that it was just something Berry picked up to say on T.V or something.

"Y-You don't need to know the details. I'm sure you'd like us to forget the sauna incident too… right, _Kanji-kun_?" Yukiko asked, glaring over at Kanji.

"H-Huh? Why _me_ , I didn't even say anything!" Kanji stuttered, a tad embarrassed.

"Man, that's not fair… I wanted to see everyone else's too!" Ryo whined, looking over at Hitomi. What was hers like, he wondered.

"That's right. We three are the only ones who saw everyone's secret" Yosuke commented, a smile forming as he looked at Hitomi and Nise.

"That's true… I saw everyone's, huh? Right from the very beginning" Hitomi recalled, closing her eyes pleasantly.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I wasn't there for Yosuke's thing!" Nise gasped. "So, what was it like? C'mon, it's about time you told us!"

"H-Huh? Uh…" Hitomi stuttered, glancing over to Yosuke. His expression was both that of worry and embarrassment, causing Hitomi's heart to pang in sympathy.

"...I don't remember much" Hitomi finally replied to Nise, looking back at him.

"C-C'mon, let's leave it at that!" Yosuke laughed nervously. "Oh, speaking of which, nothing really happened in your case; huh?

"Really…" Ryo hummed as he stared at Hitomi, lost in the beautiful silver color of her hair. Suddenly, realizing what Yosuke said, Ryo looked at Yosuke in surprise. "Wait, _really_? Is there something special about Senpai, after all?"

"Sensei is da wo-man!" Berry giggled, her eyes beaming with admiration.

"But now that the case is solved, Yosuke-senpai won't be calling you 'Partner' anymore, huh? Guess that's something you can look forward to" Kanji joked, recalling the times he heard Yosuke call Hitomi partner, and based on what Nise had told him.

"Oh yeah… That's kinda depressing" Hanamura laughed nervously, a bead of sweat rolling down his jaw. Hitomi felt the corners of her lips twitch, a wave of relief washing over her. This time, she was really with her friends… And she doesn't have to worry about being separated from them like in that accursed nightmare she had.

"Hey, why don't we have a celebration?" Ryo suddenly suggested, his face beaming with excitement. "We _always_ have a wrap party after we're done shooting. It's fun, and it'll help give us some closure!"

"Oooh, a party! That sounds great! Let's go all out!" Nise agreed, his face beaming as well.

"Ooh, ooh! I wanna go to Yuki-chan's house!" Berry suddenly suggested, her face red in excitment.

"For the food, hot springs, yukata's, geisha, and Mount Fuji; right?" Hitomi asked.

"Yeah, that's right! You totally get me, Sensei!" Berry giggled, embarrassed for some reason that Hitomi understood her so well.

"You're right, Yukiko-senpai's family runs a hot springs inn…" Kanji began, humming to himself. His face suddenly became red as his body twitched a little. "A-A hot spring that… Yukiko-senpai bathes in too...?"

"Hey, keep it to yourself… You're sounding like a creep" Hanamura remarked, causing Kanji to flinch, noticing the discomfort he had put on everyone; except for Hitomi and Ryo.

"Um, well… That sounds nice and all, but maybe a simpler celebration would be better? If Hitomi-senpai moves around too much, her wound will open up" Ryo pointed out, gently pressing his fingers to the bandage he had put on Hitomi. He did a pretty good job for an amauture, but since he's no professional, it could always open up anytime.

"That's true. B-Besides, I don't think it's possible today…" Yukiko stuttered, feeling a little shy.

"Yeah, it's summer vacation. All the rooms must be occupied" Nise hummed as he looked over at Yukiko with a rather disappointed smile. Yukiko blushed and looked away, not able to keep eye contact with him after hearing Kanji's little remark.

"We can't do a sleepover...?" Berry whimpered, disappointed.

"Maybe next time. I promise" Yukiko reassured. Hitomi, knowing where this was going, looked over at Yosuke who turned his attention on her and smiled.

"Hey, why don't we hit your place instead? It won't be as exaggerated like Berry had wanted" Yosuke suggested. He then blinked and frowned. "Oh, but will your uncle get suspicious? Like, 'Why are you all celebrating?'"

"Well, Dojima might be up late tonight with Kubo-senpai now turned over to the police" Hitomi pointed out in reply.

"Oh yeah, if your uncle's a detective, he might not even come home tonight… Nanako-chan might be getting hungry" Nise hummed, worried for the girl.

"Hey, then why don't we make dinner together?" Yukiko suggested with a wide smile.

"Wow… Are you good at cooking, Nise-senpai?" Ryo asked, a bit curious.

"W-Well…" Nise began, the right corner of his lip twitching. "Sort of?"

"What are you saying...? Did you already forget the tragedy of the school campout!?" Yosuke growled, glaring at both Nise and Yukiko.

"W-We already told you that was an accident!" Nise replied back in defense, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"He's right! We just got a couple of the ingredients wrong!" Yukiko added, casing a bead of sweat to roll down Yosuke and Hitomi's jaw. Hitomi was _there_ when they went shopping, so she knew that they got more than just "a couple" of ingredients wrong from the large amounts of bags they had to carry home.

"Guys, please don't do this, I'm begging you… I don't need another trauma to deal with…" Yosuke groaned, already feeling the pain that would overcome his stomach.

"Hey, I'm a good cook too! I'll make something for you, Hitomi-senpai" Ryo suggested, smiling kindly at Hitomi. Hitomi felt her heart skip a beat at Ryo's smile, feeling her own lips begin to twitch.

"Tadaaaah! Berry has a _berry_ great idea!" Berry gasped, standing up from her seat. Hitomi sighed silently, already knowing where this was going to go. "Let's have a cooking battle! The winner will be crowned Iron Cook Inaba!" Hitomi blinked in surprise at the last bit, not expecting to hear that there would be an actual _prize_ for the winner… Hitomi felt a warm feeling washed over her, thinking that the title was just proof of her really being there with her friends.

"A cooking battle? Now I'm even _more_ worried…" Yosuke chuckled nervously, sweat dripping off his forehead.

"S-Sure, that sounds like fun! I'm always game for a good competition!" Nise agreed, nervous sweat rolling down his face as he smiled. If he doesn't mess it up, he should be able to win Hitomi's heart… At least a little bit of it.

"Aww, but I'll win hands-down. You sure you want to make it _that_ easy?" Ryo teased, resting his chin in the palm of his hands in a rather seductive yet feminine way. Nise and Yukiko felt their eyebrows twitch at Ryo's remark, feeling challenged.

"Hitomi-chan, listen to me. For the sake of our stomachs, you have to cook something too. Help us, Hitomi-chan! You're our only hope…!" Yosuke groaned, blushing a little in embarrassment for calling Hitomi by her first name instead of surname like before. It made his heart pound for some reason… The others glanced at the duo for a moment, acknowledging the advancement in the two's friendship.

"Fine. Nanako-chan will be our judge!" Nise announced, wiping the sweat off his face as his heart began to pump faster in excitement.

"I can be a taster too!" Kanji suggested, oblivious to what was going to await him by offering to do this role.

"Berry can be a tester too! At the end, you're supposed to say, 'That was delicious!' right?" Berry asked, her innocent eyes beaming. She had no idea what she was getting her head into...

"Woo! I'm getting all fired up!" Nise shouted as he stood up, fire practically surrounding him in his excitement. "Alright! Let us advance forth into the grocery section downstairs! Chaaarge!" Like a bell that herds cattle, everyone aside from Ryo and Hitomi ran towards the grocery department after Nise. Ryo and Hitomi looked at each other, Ryo's gentle chuckling speaking for both of them. What foolish friends they had.

* * *

Upon arriving at the grocery department, everyone began spouting out ideas as for what to cook. Kanji suggested curry, but Hitomi immediately turned it down, a bit worried that it would turn out "average" like in the other world. Yosuke and Nise suggested ramen, but it was too easy of a dish to make. Ryo suggested a foreign food from America that he got to try once, and although Hitomi liked the idea; thought it was a bit too extreme for a child. With no one coming up to an agreement, Hitomi decided to just call Nanako herself.

" _Hello, Dojima Residence…_ " Nanako greeted calmly, lonely from not having her Big Sis or father in the house with her.

"Hi, Nanako. It's me" Hitomi greeted.

" _Oh! Hi, Big Sis!_ " Nanako chirped, sounding much more lively than just mere seconds ago. The sound of Nanako's energetic voice splashed happiness over Hitomi.

"Hey, do you know if Dojima is still at work?" Hitomi asked, wanting to make sure that he wasn't there. If he was, there might be some second thoughts on the party...

" _Yeah, he just called. He said he's gonna be late today_ " Nanako replied with a sigh, sounding sad.

"I see…" Hitomi hummed, looking over at her friends. "Well, my friends and I are going to have a celebration- a cook off. We'll be making dinner."

" _Huh...? Dinner? You're all going to cook?_ " Nanako asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Ask Nanako-chan what she wants for dinner!" Nise and Yosuke suggested, the duo wanting to bring a smile to Nanako's face. Hitomi nodded in reply, asking Nanako that question.

" _What do I want...? Um...Anything's fine_ " Nanako replied, sheepishly.

"She says anything is fine" Hitomi told her friends.

"She's just being modest! Ask her again" Yukiko giggled. Hitomi felt the corner of her lips twitch as well as she nodded, asking what Nanako wanted once again.

" _Well, umm…_ " Nanako hummed, unsure as to what she wanted. " _...Omurice. I wanna eat omurice._ "

"Alright then. Don't eat any snacks, okay? Oh, and clear the living room for me" Hitomi instructed, surprising Berry and Ryo who both haven't been introduced to Nanako nor seen such a motherly side to Hitomi. It made the duo blush and smile.

" _Okay! I'll be waiting!_ " Nanako giggled, sounding excited as if she was looking forward to it. Hitomi nodded and ended the phone call, placing her iPhone in her pocket.

"So, what did she say?" Nise asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Omurice" Hitomi replied, causing Nise to freeze. Noticing this behavior, Hitomi blinked and tilted her head ever so slightly.

"Omurice… An excellent choice, Nanako-chan" Yosuke hummed to himself, nodding in approval. It's not too difficult- even for failures like Nise. "With a dish that simple, I doubt we'll get a second helping of Mystery Food X… Huh? What's wrong?" The group turned their attention to Nise, now noticing the lack of color in his face.

"...N-Nothing. Alright, let's go get our ingredients!" Nise replied, smiling nervously. Yukiko and Ryo nodded in agreement, the trio all going their separate ways. This was enough to make Yosuke, Kanji, and Hitomi all start to become nervous.

"Uh… If they're all making the same thing, why are they splitting up to different parts of the market?" Yosuke asked, his voice cracking in nervousness. He sighed and looked over to Hitomi, a nervous smile stretching his lips. "Looks like you'll need all the help you can get. So, what kind of omurice are you making? I'll go get the ingredients for ya."

"Um… I'll make Asian American, soy flavored" Hitomi replied, her eyes casting downward. It was her Senpai's favorite…

"Nice choice! I like my omurice done that way, too" Yosuke laughed, causing Hitomi to gasp softly in surprise. "It's been awhile since I've had soy flavored omurice. I'm looking forward to it!" Hitomi blinked in surprise as Yosuke started telling Kanji to grab some items that Hitomi would need, leaving Hitomi all by her lonesome- Berry having wandered off somewhere. Hitomi placed a hand to her cheek, feeling her red face.

 _I should take it easy for a while…_ Hitomi thought to herself, not wanting to lose too much blood. Blood is hard to clean off carpets- she knew that from experience.

* * *

After a good 20 minutes of shopping, everyone met up once again to their earlier location, which was right in front of the vegetable section. Hitomi had grabbed a cart for everyone to put their ingredients in, assigning the other three a corner of the cart to put their things in. Ryo smiled happily as he placed a container of foie gras into his corner of the cart.

"Foie gras!?" Yosuke exclaimed, sweat dripping down his face at an inhuman pace.

"Quite an eye you got there, Yosuke-senpai. It's a must-have for my special omurice!" Ryo said with a smile, beaming in pride and joy. "Don't worry, I'll let you have a taste. Oh, I heard last time you choked down something so awful that words couldn't describe it…"

"Ngh… It was horrible…" Yosuke gagged, simply recalling the memory. Unknowingly to him, it had pushed Nise's and Yukiko's buttons who were now giving him icey-cold glares. Hitomi touched her lips in slight disgust, catching Ryo's attention.

"You too, Hitomi-senpai? You poor thing! Who would do something so horrible...?" Ryo sighed, his lips curling up into a grin as he looked over at Nise in a mocking manner.

"Ryo- _san_? This is going to be the only chance you get to gloat, _is that clear_?" Nise growled, feeling the need to take this competition more seriously than ever. It wasn't just for the sake of regaining honor for his slip-up last time… This is to also make a good impression on Hitomi!

"...I'll crush you with _one strike_ " Yukiko muttered, a cold breeze blowing by everyone. Yukiko was determined as well to not lose… She has been training under Hitomi. Failing the competition is like a reflection of what Yukiko had learned so far, and that's the last thing Yukiko wanted.

"Whoa… You guys look like you're ready to enter the Ultimate Frying Championship" Kanji joked as he walked towards everyone with a bottle.

"Kanji-kun! That's alcohol!" Yukiko exclaimed, noticing the bottle tag.

"Huh...? Oh, uh… Hahaha…!" Kanji laughed nervously, hiding the bottle behind his back. Sadly for him, it was in plain view for Hitomi.

"Whiskey, huh…? Depending on the brand, it'll overwhelm the omurice. It would go better with steak, though..." Hitomi muttered aloud, trying to think why Kanji would bring alcohol with him.

"Wait… Have you had alcohol before, Hitomi-chan?" Yosuke asked, a bit surprised at the question.

"N-No, not at all! I mean, not outside of cooking, anyways! I-I'm not old enough!" Hitomi stuttered, slightly appalled that Yosuke would ask such a thing. The lot of them laughed as Nise looked around, noticing something.

"By the way, where's Berry?" Nise asked, catching everyone's attention. Looking around, Hitomi noticed a familiar head of long, blonde hair.

"Mister? Am I allowed to eat this?" Berry asked innocently, staring at the meat on the tray.

"Of course you can, cutie. Eat as much as you like!" the man smiled with a red face, tranced by Berry's innocent beauty.

"You're such a nice man. Is this one cooked already?" Berry asked, giggling.

"This one's ready too" the man chuckled, his blush growing redder. "Are you hungry for more? Here… I'll open this one too."

"You're so kind to me, mister…" Berry cooed, her eyes focused on the steaming meat on the tray.

"U-Uh…!" the man stuttered, sweat rolling down his face. "No, I mustn't... I've got a wife and a son!"

"But I really want this meat… And I want you to give it to me, mister" Berry cooed, oblivious to what the words could have meant while she stared downward.

"Wha-?!" the man stammered, his face completely red at this point.

"BERRY!" Kanji, Yukiko, and Nise screamed, running at her. Startled by her friends screams, Berry ran off, the others trailing after her.

"I'm gonna knock the _stuffing_ outta that bear…" Yosuke growled as he chased after his friends, leaving Ryo and Hitomi with the cart of groceries. Shaking her head, Hitomi let out a soft sound that sounded almost like a giggle or a chuckle, much to Ryo's surprise and pleasure.

"Well, I'm looking forward to tasting everyone's omurice. Especially yours Ryo-kun" Hitomi hummed as she began to push the rather heavy cart.

"Really?" Ryo mused, raising an eyebrow as his heart skipped a beat. Hitomi nodded, eyeing the foie gras.

* * *

Everyone was walking towards the Dojima residence, lead by Yosuke and Hitomi, while chatting happily about the cook-off and previous competitions they had been in. The ingredient were all paid by either Yosuke or Hitomi, as usual, much to the duo's displeasure.

"Do you think we'll have enough time to make desert?" Nise asked, looking worrisome at his bag of grocery.

"What? _Now_ you want sweets? Why didn't you buy anything while we were still at Junes?!" Yosuke snapped, clear signs of annoyance shooting from him.

"Well, I saw some sweets in Narukami-chan's bag, so I thought we were gonna have desert" Nise began to explain, rubbing the back of his head. "But she says that the sweets aren't for tonight but for another time!"

"What're they for, Hitomi-senpai?" Ryo asked, curious.

"A secret" Hitomi replied as she pulled out her spare key for the Dojima Residence.

"Aw, come on! That's no fair!" Nise whined.

"Quit whinin'. If ya didn't assume that everything is for you, ya wouldn't be havin' this problem" Kanji sighed, tired of hearing Nise whine while carrying the girls stuff. He offered to carry Hitomi's bag since she was hurt and all, but then Yukiko suddenly threw her bag on him as well- which was a lot heavier than Hitomi's.

"Well! If _someone_ hadn't eaten _MY_ pudding, I wouldn't-" Nise began, clearly upset.

"Welcome home, Big Sis!" a familiar childish voice greeted, interrupting Nise. Nanako, standing on the other side of the door in front of Hitomi, smiled at the presence of her Big Sis.

"Hey, Nanako-chan!" Yosuke and Yukiko greeted, smiling.

"Oh, what a cutie!" Berry giggled, already drawn to Nanako's cute looks.

"I-I'm not cute…!" Nanako squeaked, blushing a little as she lowered her head.

"Don't say that. You're very cute, Nanako" Hitomi complemented, patting Nanako's head as she walked by her into the house. Yosuke, Nise, and Yukiko followed suit; leaving Berry, Ryo, and Kanji with Nanako at the entrance.

"'Sup. The name's Kanji Tatsumi" Kanji greeted with a smile, not wanting to scare the innocent Nanako away. Looking down at Berry who was leaning in towards Nanako with shining eyes, Kanji smacked Berry and sighed. "And this bumbling lady is called Berry." Berry whimpered at the pain rubbing her head as Nanako nodded hello to Kanji. Noticing the head of copper hair, Nanako locked eyes with Ryo's, who smiled in reply.

"Hello. I'm Ryo Kujikawa" Ryo greeted with a nod, causing Nanako to blush.

"I-It's Ryouta-kun!" Nanako squeaked, causing the others to chuckle as Ryo felt a bead of sweat roll down his jaw. Noticing what she was wearing, Nanako looked down at herself ran to her room in embarrassment. Yosuke, who had been keeping watch at the others, saw the whole thing and smirked mockingly at Ryo.

"Wow, you can be so cruel… Scaring children, now, huh? Didn't know you had it in you" Yosuke joked, causing Ryo to frown. Ryo was, in fact, amazing with children and didn't want Hitomi to think otherwise.

"Alright, guys. Let's get started" Hitomi instructed as she began to unload her plastic bag. The others all follow suit, commencing the cooking competition.

* * *

While the others cooked, Nanako played with Ryo and Yosuke, talking with all of Hitomi's friends. Berry, who was sitting at the dining table, felt a little lonely for she and Nanako had become fast friends in no time once Hitomi managed to bring Nanako out after her embarrassing encounter with Ryouta the Idol. But seeing Nanako smile and giggle around the others made Berry happy just by watching from afar.

"Ryo-kun was right… This celebration does make me feel like it's over…" Berry sighed, her eyes locked on Ryo's well-built back. "The case really has come to an end… I should go back over there soon…"

"Are you going somewhere?" Nanako asked, as she sat down next to Berry, shyly.

"Yep… The guys kept their promise" Berry smiled sadly to the child, glad that she had finally returned.

"A promise, huh...?" Nanako hummed, tilting her head to the side. "Um, Berry? What if you made a promise with me? Could you stay then?"

"A promise… with Nana-chan?" Berry asked, blushing a little.

"Um… A promise that you'll play with me. How about that?" Nanako suggested with a smile. Berry felt her eyes water as she teetered in her seat, debating on whether or not to take Nanako's promise to heart or to obey her promise to Hitomi and Yosuke.

"Here, you two. I got you guys some fruit milk" Hitomi began, catching Berry and Nanako's attention. "Sweet and cool."

"Sensei…" Berry muttered catching Hitomi's attention as she placed a cup of the fruit milk in front of Nanako.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Berry?" Hitomi asked, noticing Berry's slight distress as she placed a cup down in front of her.

Looking down at her lap, Berry mumbled in a strained voice, "You kept your promise with me… So I should go back over there…"

"Oh, that? Don't worry about it" Hitomi replied simply, tilting her head slightly.

"B-But… a promise is a promise… It's not good to break them…!" Berry whimpered, looking up at Hitomi with watery eyes.

"Oh, Berry…" Hitomi sighed, petting Berry's soft hair. "It is not good to break a promise, but it's also not good to be away from the people who care about you. Like Nanako and I. If you're really concerned about the promise, make one with Nanako."

"S-Sensei…!" Berry stuttered, her face becoming red as she looked over at Nanako. Nanako smiled and nodded, agreeing with her older cousin.

"My promise with Nana-chan… I made a promise to play with her..." Berry muttered to herself, looking back at Hitomi. "Can I really stay here? It wasn't just my promise. Nana-chan made it with me!"

"Well then there you go. You're staying here with us" Hitomi replied with a firm nod. Berry's eyes began to leak causing her to quickly wipe her falling tears away and smile bashfully.

"Oh, Sensei…! I'm really… really happy! Thank you...!" Berry sniffled, overwhelmed with joy.

"Hey, I got your 'Plan B' ready like you asked. Oh, and I also got drinks ready" Yosuke informed as he walked up to Hitomi.

"Oh! Thank you, Yosuke-kun" Hitomi thanked, nodding to him. Yosuke nodded back and smiled at Nanako, earning a smile in reply.

"Er, Perv- I mean… Yosuke!" Berry suddenly squeaked, catching Yosuke's attention. "I have a new promise to keep… S-So, I wanna stay here a little longer! Is that okay with you, Sir!?"

"Huh? What're you talking about? You're not going anywhere" Yosuke began, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can't just quit your job like that. In any case, if you left-"

"It's reeeeeaaaaadyyyy! Incoming food! Make way!" Ryo sang, interrupting Yosuke as Ryo accidentally bumped into him; separating him and Hitomi. Berry gasped softly in surprise, her heart skipping a beat as she immediately recognized the voice.

"Whoa! Ow!" Yosuke groaned, rubbing his side that Ryo had whammed into.

"Whoops, sorry about that" Ryo apologized, blinking in surprise. His genuinely surprised face then turned into a mischievous smirk as he placed his plate down on the table, snickering: "I didn't really see you there."

"Wha-?! A-At least I'm taller than Nise!" Yosuke stuttered in embarrassment, slightly insecure of his height.

" _What_ was that?" Nise growled, his leg steadily wrapped around Yosuke's waist. Yosuke gulped at this and before he could even blink, Nise cried out something in German as he bent his body backward; slamming Yosuke's head to the ground.

"Look at all of this yummy food your Big Sis and Bro's made for you, Nanako-chan!" Nise chirped, standing upright as if nothing had happened; leaving Yosuke's twitching body alone.

* * *

Once Yosuke had recovered from his unconscious state that Nise had left him in, Hitomi sat at the corner closest to the entrance. Yosuke sat to her right while Kanji sat to her left. Next to Kanji was Nise and Yukiko, who sat to the right of Ryo. To the left of Ryo was Nanako, who was also sitting next to Berry. Berry closed the rectangular circle the group had made by sitting next to Yosuke.

"Bon appetit!" Ryo chirped, excited to win Hitomi's heart over once Nanako tries his special omurice. Yosuke eyed the four different platters of omurice on the dining table, noticing that only one looked normal- that one belonging to Hitomi. The plate left to Hitomi's was Yukiko's, which looked a lot… _whiter_ than it really should. Next to Yukiko's was Ryo's plate which was a vibrant color of _red_ , much to Yosuke's surprise. And the last plate, which was a lot darker than it should, was Nise's plate. Yosuke… was _really_ not looking forward to trying that one.

"W-Well, wait a sec. Asking Nanako-chan to jump in and try these for us is kinda… unethical" Yosuke stammered, becoming nervous. If anything happened to Nanako by eating this, there's a 99.9999991% chance that Dojima would have _all_ their heads for it. Yosuke gulped at the thought and looked at Nise with uncertainty, causing him to blush and flinch in embarrassment.

"D-Don't look at us like that!" Nise snapped in defense, pouting which made Yukiko blush a little and smile.

"Ohhh… So it's _our_ job to taste it first, to make sure we can keep it down" Kanji mused, seeming to finally understand where Yosuke was getting at.

"Hey! That's rude!" Ryo pointed out, offended that his food wasn't even given a shot and was already labeled as "bad". "Then try mine first, Yosuke-senpai. It's guaranteed delicious- a necessary skill after all in life!"

"Yo, for real?! You don't mind me going first? Actually, I-I've been looking forward to yours" Yosuke admitted as his eyes began to sparkle, causing the others aside from Nanako, Hitomi, and Berry to feel a bead of sweat roll down their jaw. "I mean, _Ryouta_ cooked it _himself_. Can you imagine how many fans would kill me if they found out?!"

"Well, if you're that excited about it… I can't really say no" Ryo laughed nervously, raising an eyebrow.

"Well then, chow time!" Yosuke beamed, taking a scoop of Ryo's omurice which was conveniently placed right in front of him. Taking a bite, Yosuke's beaming smile quickly turned into a face of struggle. Youke gulped loudly and began to cough violently. Hitomi immediately gave some water to Yosuke, who took the cup happily and gulped the whole thing down.

Yosuke panted as tears fell down his now red face, muttering; "Urgh… I-I… can't give this to Nanako-chan…!"

"Huh? Why not?" Ryo asked, tilting his head.

"It… hurts…!" Yosuke whimpered, wiping the falling tears from his eyes. Curious, Hitomi grabbed her spoon and took a bite of Ryo's food. Hitomi blink in surprise, humming in decent surprise.

 _It's spicy. The spiciness and heat are like lava in my mouth… It's nice!_ Hitomi thought to herself, nodding in approval. _Although, I can't seem to taste or feel the foie gras at all..._

"Here, try mine next" Yukiko suddenly insisted, tapping her plate with her spoon, beaming with pride.

"Uh… I'll take this one" Kanji volunteered, noticing that Yosuke was still crying from Ryo's sample. Kanji, being a rather large built individual, took a large scoop of Yukiko's omurice.

"K-Kanji…! That's a lot…" Yosuke whimpered, still crying. Kanji ignored Yosuke's whimper and ate Yukiko's omurice. There was a moment of suspense as everyone watched Kanji chew, his eager expression turning into a confused one. After swallowing the food, Kanji went for another sample, much smaller than his first one. Kanji ate the food and raised an eyebrow, staring at his spoon.

"H-Hey, say something!" Yukiko stammered, nervous by Kanji's actions.

"Well… Uh… How do I put this...?" Kanji hummed to himself, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. "It tastes really, um… boneless...?"

"What!? That's not a word you use to describe taste! Does it taste good or not!? Tell me!" Yukiko demanded, causing Kanji to flinch.

"Uh, well… _Not good_ , that's for sure. It tastes like…" Kanji began, placing his spoon down with a sigh in dissatisfaction. "Like I'm eating plain oatmeal… It's pretty impressive that you put so many ingredients into a dish and it came out tasting like _nothing_."

"Y-Your palate just isn't refined enough!" Yukiko snapped, offended by Kanji's words. Hitomi, curious as to what Kanji was tasting, leaned over the table, scooped a hearty serving of the white omurice, and took a bite of Yukiko's sample. Nanako did the same thing, just as curious as Hitomi was.

 _...It doesn't seem to be dangerous. But I can't taste any flavors in particular… In fact- I don't taste anything at all!_ Hitomi thought to herself, looking up at Yukiko.

"...I think it tastes good" Nanako commented, smiling at Yukiko.

"Mm, I think so too. It definitely describes Yukiko-chan" Hitomi agreed, causing Yukiko to smile widely.

"Nanako-chan, Hi-chan...!" Yukiko muttered, grateful for their kind words.

"O-Okay… Try mine next" Nise stuttered, his face becoming red as he stared at Hitomi, who noticed and looked back at him. Embarrassed, Nise looked down, running his fingers through his hair. "Ngh…! I-I'm not 100% confident about it… But I think it'll taste good! This time for sure!"

"I'll give it a whirl!" Berry volunteered, beaming with excitement. Nise looked at her and nodded, causing Berry to scoop up his sample and take a bite. Berry chewed with a bright smile on her face, causing Yosuke and Yukiko to sweat in astonishment.

"H-How is it...?" Nise asked as Berry swallowing the food.

"Wow, this tastes _awful_! You have to try this, Yosuke!" Berry cheered, her face beaming.

"Uh, not after you say that…" Yosuke sniffled, finally recovered from Ryo's spicy omurice. Sighing, Yosuke gave in and ate a little bit of Nise's sample.

"Ugh… Ahhh, I see…" Yosuke sighed, making a face of disgust. Hitomi, slightly concerned for Yosuke, poured him another glass of water and gave it to him. Once Yosuke took the cup, Hitomi scooped up some and took a bite. Nanako did the same, quietly making a face of slight disgust. Hitomi chewed the omurice and swallowed, looking at Nise who looked as if he was at the verge of crying.

 _...It does taste a little undercooked, making the egg raw… But the flavor is good! I-I think…_ Hitomi thought to herself, trying to think of something positive to say to Nise if needed.

"Well, um… It's a huge improvement over the curry…?" Yosuke complimented, sounding a bit uncertain himself.

"Oh, yeah, thanks for the consolation… I feel _soooo_ much better…" Nise sighed as he lowered his head, looking to the side so that the others couldn't see his upcoming tears.

"I think this tastes good too" Nanako commented, smiling like before.

"Yeah. The egg might not be cooked well enough, but the combination of flavors is there" Hitomi added, reassuring Nise in hopes that he wouldn't cry. Nise gasped as his face turned red, his lips trembling slightly.

"Th-Th-Th… Thanks, you two...!" Nise stuttered as he hid his face behind his hands, embarrassed by being complimented by Hitomi. Yukiko frowned as a drop of sweat rolled down her jaw in jealousy. Wanting some attention from Nise, Yukiko took a scoop and ate it, catching Nise's attention whose face was still red.

"Oh yeah, they're right…!" Yukiko gasped after swallowing. "They're totally right! It tastes awful! Ahahahaha!"

"Wha-?! Yukiko!" Nise whined, sounding betrayed that his best friend said such a thing. "Fine, then try Ryo's! I bet you _anything_ mine tastes better than his!" Yukiko smiled and leaned across the table taking a scoop of Ryo's omurice. Yosuke winced upon seeing this, his mouth starting to dull once again form the intensity of the flavors. Yukiko took the bite and chewed. Almost immediately, Yukiko dropped her spoon and grabbed her neck, her face turning bright red.

"U-Urhg…!" Yukiko choked, shortly falling backwards in a dainty manner.

"Y-Yukiko?!" Nise squeaked, jumping to Yukiko's aid.

"S-Senpai!?" Ryo exclaimed, sweat beginning to fall from his face.

"Sure enough… One strike" Kanji muttered, staring wide-eyed at the fallen heiress.

"Well, Yukiko and Nise's didn't taste good either… But at least theirs didn't cause any casualties… Haha…!" Yosuke joked, rubbing the back of his head. He was slightly disappointed that his role-model wasn't a good cook, but at the same time; he felt relieved. It gave him a reasonable excuse to not be that good of a cook either.

"I-It's a taste too subtle for kids! It's a _mature_ flavor!" Ryo squeaked, his face reddening. Realizing that the reason why Yosuke had been crying after eating Ryo's food was because of the spiciness, Ryo looked down at his hands in shame and pouted. "Is it really that bad…? I… I worked hard to follow my grandma's recipe, so I thought…" Nanako, being a fan of Ryo, picked up her spoon and took a bite of Ryo's omurice, catching his attention.

"Ngh...!" Nanako whimpered, causing Ryo to flinch.

After a moment, Nanako looked up at Ryo and smiled through sweat. "It's spicy, but it's still good…!"

"Nanako-chan...!" Ryo muttered, feeling guilty for putting Nanako through the pain of his omurice. Ryo sighed and looked down at his hands once again, not feeling even the slightest bit better.

"I liked yours quite a bit, Ryo-kun" Hitomi began, causing Ryo to look up in surprise. "I actually like spicy food, so it was right up my alley. Although, funny enough, I couldn't taste the foie gras." Ryo blushed, his heart skipping multiple beats at his upperclassmen's kind words.

"R-Really?" Ryo stuttered, smiling shyly as he rubbed the back of his head. Looking over at Nanako, Ryo smiled and petted her head. "Heh, I knew it! Both Nanako-chan and Hitomi-senpai are the most mature people in this room~!" Nanako smiled brightly, taking great honor to be both touched _and_ complimented by her favorite idol.

"Oh yeah, didn't you make one too, Narukami-senpai?" Kanji asked, smiling in excitement.

"You did!?" Nanako gasped. Because she was too busy talking and playing with the others, Nanako didn't notice that Hitomi was right in the middle of it all, cooking intensely for the perfect omurice. This worked in Hitomi's favor, having been able to avoid the whole concerned questioning regarding the bandages on the side of her head.

"That's right. It's that one" Hitomi replied as she pointed at her plate. Nanako giggled happily, scooped a hearty sample, and took a bite. Almost instantly, Nanako blushed and placed a hand to her right cheek.

"Wow! This is really _really_ good! I've never had an omurice this good before! I-It's amazing!" Nanako stammered. She soon began to eat some more of the omurice in an extremely cheerful manner.

"Well, looks like that makes Sensei the winner!" Berry announced, clapping her hands twice! "Sensei is now the 'Iron Cook of Inaba!' Hurray!"

"Wait, you were serious about all that?" Kanji asked, a drop of sweat tracing his jaw.

"Of course I was! I'm a berry serious lady!" Berry huffed.

"If anyone would like some for themselves, I made some extra" Hitomi pointed out, causing Yukiko to sit back up; her forehead smacking into Nise who had still been trying to help Yukiko.

"I-I'd like some…!" Yukiko and Nise groaned, both rubbing their heads.

"Pass some over to me! I'm starvin'!" Kanji grinned, patting his stomach.

"Alright then. Berry, would you mind helping me?" Hitomi asked as she stood up.

"Oh, here! Let me help you, Senpai!" Ryo volunteered, standing up and walking over to the kitchen counter.

"Huh. Well aren't you the gentleman?" Kanji scoffed teasingly, raising a brow at Ryo.

"Of course I am. I have to keep my image clean, you know?" Ryo replied with a wink, referring to Nanako.

And just like that, the evening turned out to be a major success with lots of smiles, laughter, and _really_ good food. Once everyone had finished eating, Ryo- once again- volunteered to take care of the dishes so that Hitomi wouldn't have to get up. Both Hitomi and Berry felt their heart skip a beat by this, finding it extremely attractive for a man to be so polite.

"Are you full, Nanako-chan?" Yukiko asked with a smile as Ryo sat down on the couch, having finished washing the dishes.

"Yep! It was super yummy" Nanako giggled, swaying to the side in glee.

"You can say that again" everyone else agreed, aside from Hitomi who was blushing in embarrassment while combing Berry's long, blonde hair.

"I would have liked something sweet to compliment it, honestly… But, I guess you win some and lose some" Nise joked, closing his eyes.

"No, _you've_ just got a huge sweet tooth" Kanji and Yosuke pointed out, unamused.

"Oh, well… You caught me" Nise replied bluntly, smirking.

"Oh, I've always wanted to try candied apples! I hear they're really really good! Sweet but healthy!" Berry smiled brightly, stars practically bouncing off her in her excitement.

"Like the ones they sell during Summer festivals?" Hitomi mused as she began tying Berry's hair into a braid.

"Oh, u-uh! I have a suggestion…" Yosuke began, catching everyone's attention. "You guys know about the festival they're holding in the shopping district, right? Why don't we all go?"

"Oh, that sounds good!" Ryo exclaimed, liking the idea.

"Whoa! Does that mean that everyone will be wearing yukatas!?" Berry gasped dramatically, leaning forward which broke Hitomi's braid.

"Nah, probably just you girl's" Nise replied while waving his hand dismissively.

"What's wrong with boys wearing yukatas?" Ryo asked, causing Nise to flinch- realizing his words.

"E-Er, nothing! Nothing at all! But, well, uh… T-They're hard to come by, you know?" Nise laughed nervously.

"Can't we buy some at your shop, Kanji?" Ryo asked.

"Sorry, but nope. My ma sold the last yukata just a while ago" Kanji replied.

"Darn..." Ryo sighed, for he was looking forward in wearing a yukata again.

"But that shouldn't really matter, right? If you can find and buy a yukata, then wear it! It's not a necessity" Yosuke groaned, slightly annoyed by the conversation.

"A festival…" Nanako muttered, wanting to voice her yearning for going as well.

"Heh, don't think we've forgotten you. We'll bring Nanako-chan along too!" Yosuke said with a wink, causing Nanako to gasp.

" _I_ can come?" Nanako asked, looking over at Hitomi.

"Of course you can. It'll be a lot of fun" Hitomi replied with a nod.

"Really!? Yay!" Nanko cheered, her face beaming.

"That settles it, then!" Yosuke hummed in triumph, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Festival food always tastes great for some reason, even if it ain't anything fancy" Kanji commented, everyone agreeing. Hitomi watched her friends begin to talk about their memories of latest festivals, what their traditions were, and laughed while teasing one another. Moments like these, Hitomi felt alive and her chest was warm… As long as she has her friends, she feels like she could even escape death… After all, she did it numerous times already.

Whatever awaited Hitomi during her summer break in Inaba was one that she knew was going to be the best vacation yet...


	20. The Start to a Hectic Summer

A/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm so happy, I finally got this finished! I'm so sorry for the wait everyone, my summer break had a lot of work put into it thanks to summer class at a local college. Thank you all for being so patient with me! Sadly… I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be up. I'll try to put some work into it, but with my class… It'll be difficult to say the least. But I want you all to know that I will never, EVER drop this story for one second; even though it may seem like it.

* * *

Thursday, July 28th | _Afternoon_...

I walked slowly down the sidewalk of Inaba, staring blankly at the long path ahead of me. It was a lovely day today, and all of my friends- to my knowledge- had some form of work to do. I wasn't all that bothered by it, and was even encouraged by some of them to rest for today due to my injury. But it doesn't really bother me… It's not that deep of a cut. And Ryo did a wonderful job at patching me up.

I was glad that my friends are worrying over me, something I'm a bit ashamed to admit, but it's a feeling that I imagine won't be fleeing from me for a while. I'm not worried about being alone anymore… I'm fine by that. Truly, I am. I'm fine with it. Really. If anything, I was anxious to know what will happen to Mitsuo. We had turned him to the police, which prevented Dojima from stopping by last night (much to my relief for it would have caused some trouble with my fresh injury). Are they going to take him to court? Send him to death? A lifetime in prison?

I let out a soft, stressed sigh as I decided to let my mind wander to better things, and roamed around the Central Shopping District. With the nice weather and start of summer vacation, the streets were a lot busier than normal, mostly children playing. It was a bit of a disheartening sight, knowing that the older kids were inside and on their mobile devices.

"Oh, Senpai! Fancy meeting you here!" a familiar voice called out to me. I stopped in my tracks and looked towards the left, where the voice had come from, and noticed Ryo- who was wearing his casual clothes- smiling brightly at me.

"Oh, hello Ryo-kun" I greeted as he approached me, his smile widening.

"Hey, I just finished my shift at the store. Are you free? Why don't we go eat?" Ryo asked excitedly, his face beaming cutely. With a face like that, I couldn't possibly say no.

"Okay, sure. What are you in the mood for?" I asked. Ryo hummed as he looked around before stopping as he stared at the north district. There was a brief pause before Ryo looked at me and smiled brightly.

"How about Souzai Daigaku? I haven't eaten there yet!" Ryo suggested. I blinked in slight surprise, amazed that he hadn't eaten at one of the three food stands in the town.

"Alright, sounds good" I replied with a nod. Ryo smiled with a certain charm and cuteness, causing my heart to beat in it's favor, and the two of us began to make our way to Souzai Daigaku. Ryo asked some questions regarding my injury and overall health, to which I simply reassured him that everything was fine. The cut gave me a headache every now and then, but it surely isn't something to worry over. After all, I put proper medication on it.

Upon arriving at Souzai Daigaku, the cashier smiled happily at us and immediately offered to serve some steak croquettes on the house. It turned out that she had a lot of respect for Ryo to give himself a big name and would be honored to serve him. Ryo became rather flustered and shyly accepted her offer. I found it rather cute for someone who usually appears on the sly side. Once retrieving our food, we sat down and began to eat while discussing over Ryo's past experiences with fans. Some of them were tamed, like fans confessing their love to him while others were dangerous with some older male fans trying to take advantages of his handsome face. It sounded like dangerous work to be an idol… I'm rather glad I decided to drop that dream. I wonder if Senpai has to deal with fans like that…?

"I can't take another bite. My stomach's full…" Ryo sighed happily, resting his chin on the table with a delighted smile, hiding behind his clean plastic plate.

"Did you like it?" I asked, curious if the tough but tasty meat was up to an idol's standards. Ryo looked up at me and smiled.

"Oh yeah, it really hit the spot! I've been wanting to come here. But it's a little embarrassing to show up alone, you know?" Ryo chuckled sheepishly. I blinked in surprise by his answer, tilting my head ever so slightly.

"You don't eat out?" I asked. Ryo sat up and smiled as he stretched his arm into the air.

"Nope! If someone snapped a photo of me doing that, I'd hear it from my agency. Not really a good image to have as an idol" Ryo explained, closing his eyes. "The last time I ate out was at a festival when I was still a little kid. Back then, it was me, my grandma, and my parents… It was fun, even though I mostly hanged out with grandma." I stared at Ryo with the corners of my lips twitching slightly. He really does care about his grandmother, doesn't he…? The two _do_ seem to get along really well… It's sort of cute. I can't help but wonder why he's like that. I wonder if he'll ever tell me…?

"To tell you the truth, I've wanted to do this since I was a child. My parents were actually pretty strict" Ryo admitted as he opened his eyes again, looking down at the table with nostalgic eyes.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah… That was sort of my fault though, so I can't blame them" Ryo chuckled, closing his eyes once more. I tilted my head once again, rather confused by what Ryo meant.

"Why was it your fault?" I asked. Ryo hummed as he slouched over a little, his lips stretching into a grimace.

"Well, I never really talked to them. I was _way_ too shy for my own good back then" Ryo began. "And I didn't really have any friends. Though I guess that couldn't be helped, since I hardly ever showed up for school..." Ryo suddenly gasped as his eyes flashed open, immediately sitting up straight; startling me.

"Er, that's enough talk about that! What a depressing subject, huh? Let's talk about something fun!" Ryo laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head as he blushed. "After all, I don't want to waste the time we have together! It's so great that I came to this town and met you."

"Ryo-kun..." I muttered, not wanting him to forcibly change the topic.  
"No really, I'm serious!" Ryo reassured, looking serious now while his blushed cheeks reddened. "You've really helped me out, you know? You're really smart and funny… You're one of the most kindest people I've ever met! And let's not forget how beautiful you are… You're like a model!" I gasped softly as my heart skipped a beat, my face heating up.

"C-Cut it out! I-I'm not pretty...!" I stuttered, looking down at my hands. Ryo chuckled slightly as my injury throbbed slightly in pain. I felt my face cool down as my hands tightened up into fists. "Silver… is never pretty on anyone..." There was a moment of silence as a cool breeze blew over us, my hair swaying along with it which caused my injury to throb even more.

"...I wouldn't say that" Ryo began, catching my attention. He was holding up his head with the palm of his left hand, his expression gentle as a light pink dusted his cheeks. "It's true that silver may look bland at first glance, but when you give it a little rub… It's true beauty outshines any color in the _entire_ color spectrum." I felt my heart begin to beat faster as my face heated up. Embarrassed, I looked away; unsure of how to handle his compliment. No one had ever said something like that to me before…

"Heh! You're adorable when you blush, you know that? Silver and red looks lovely together~" Ryo chuckled in a seductive yet joking manner. I gasped and looked over at him, my face becoming even hotter.

"A-Alright, enough about me!" I squeaked, pushing a stray hair behind the back of my burning left ear. "Um… What's your favorite food?" Ryo chuckled at my question before answering, the two of us talking the rest of the afternoon away. When it was time for us to depart, Ryo walked me home and even helped re-apply medication to my wound. My heart couldn't help but pound and my face heat up at his gentle touch, knowing that he found something I personally found ugly… beautiful.

* * *

 _Evening_...

When Nanako arrived home a few hours ago, she seemed rather concerned for my wellbeing- being laid down on the couch from Ryo's order's, something a bit uncharacteristic of me from her perspective. Reassuring her that I was fine, we ate dinner that I cooked a while ago, watched some television, and decided to work on the garden. Patting the chilled dirt in front of me, Nanako and I tended the garden with care since it had been the first time that we were using the fertilizer I bought with Yosuke. Nanako was unusually quiet, thinking intently about something, as she stared at the ground.  
"...It's summer vacation, but Daddy's not around at all. We haven't done anything together, like a family trip, or going to Junes" Nanako sighed as she patted the ground with her gardening gloves sewn by Kanji.

"Maybe he doesn't get a summer vacation…?" I mused, wondering if Dojima ever got a vacation.

"Can't I give him some of mine?" Nanako asked. I frowned a little as Nanako sighed once again, watering the seedling. She seems somewhat lonely…

* * *

Friday, July 29th | _Early Morning_...

Waking up early, more so than I normally do, I immediately slip on my black sweats, green tank top, and tie my short silver hair into a ponytail. Normally, I would dress my best whenever I wasn't forced to wear my uniform, but today- I knew that I was going to have a long but exciting day ahead of me.

At the strike of seven in the morning, I pick up my iPhone and sheepishly typed in Yukiko's number. Hoping that she was up and not too busy with her family's inn, I press the call button and patiently wait while listening to the occasional rings. After five rings, I heard the other line pick up.

" _Hello?_ " Yukiko answered. I felt my body relaxed as I twiddled with my bandaged, walking towards my couch.

"Good morning, Yukiko-chan. I hope that you slept well" I greeted, feeling the day already becoming exciting.

" _Oh, hi Hi-chan! And yes, I did sleep well. Thank you_ " Yukiko giggled, seeming pleased to have received a call from me. " _Is something the matter? It's not like you to call me- especially this early._ "

"I'm sorry about that- I just wanted to see if you would be available later today" I admitted while taking a seat.

" _Huh? Well… I can take the rest of day off once lunchtime comes around_ " Yukiko mused, sounding slightly unsure but confident at the same time.

"Perfect! Do you think you can stop by the Dojima residence, then? I was hoping that the two of us could go over the cake" I asked.

" _Cake?_ " Yukiko repeated, sound confused. I pressed down on my bandaged, making sure it was secure.

"For Nise-kun's birthday tomorrow, of course!" I cheered, feeling motivated. There was a slight pause from Yukiko, the sound of her body flinching seeming to echo in her room.

" _N-Nise's… birthday cake…? You mean you… remembered?_ " Yukiko asked nervously, sounding surprised. I blinked in slight surprise at the question and nodded.

"Well of course! He is a very dear friend to me" I replied. There was another pause.

" _I-I see..._ " Yukiko muttered. " _Sure, I'll stop on by later then._ "

"Wonderful! I'll see you later!" I cheered, shortly hanging up. Slipping my phone into my pocket, I stood up and walked over to the mirror. Looking at what I was wearing and the blank expression on my face, I felt an unusual wave of determination wash over me. I get to stay indoors all day and cook, cook, bake, and cook… Feeling the corners of my lips twitch, I nodded at my reflection and pulled out my iPhone once again. I'm going to need more than two extra pairs of hands to help me out on this!

* * *

 _Afternoon..._

"Wow, so many sweets!" Nanako exclaimed excitedly, jumping slightly up and down besides me.

It was around noon, exactly five hours after my call with Yukiko and the others who answered my early morning call. I didn't actually get to work until nine in the morning, after preparing a hearty breakfast for Nanako and two guests arrived. Only three hours of labor, and already half of the food was nearly ready for their final stage of preparation. A small tower of pieces of barbaque meat being held by wooden sticks was off in the corner of the kitchen table, a large bowl of steak fried rice sat besides it, and across the way on the other end of the table was a set of string and needles with a plastic bag of candy resting besides it. In front of me was several sets of ready-to-be-baked pastries varying from muffins, cupcakes, shortcakes, and failed batter attempts of ice-cream cake.

"I guess I did over do it a little..." I hummed, a drop of sweat tickling my jaw. "Perhaps I should have asked him which flavor cake he preferred."

"Well, considerin' how big of a sweet tooth the dude has, I'm sure he won't really mind" Kanji sighed as he worked on a little white dog plush, seeming to be still annoyed about the whole pudding accident between him and Nise. "Did you do this much when you were making Yosuke-senpai's cake too?"

"Yeah! She got up early to make it" Nanako explained before I even got the chance to nod. "But she kept on messing up and made at least five before she made the right one. We had lots of cake left over to eat for a while! They were all really yummy!" I felt my face heat up from slight embarrassment, recalling what Yosuke's father had told me. It still baffled me that Yosuke of all people would cry over such a birthday dinner… I'm sure it was awkward for him with all the questioning Dojima did on us. But still, I...

"Aw, you're so nice~!" Ryo chirped, snapping me out of my thoughts. Looking up over at him, his white teeth shined as he smiled at me. "My birthday already passed, so you don't get to worry yourself over me!"

Ryou suddenly pouted, his puckered lips causing my heart to skip a beat for some reason. "But I am a little disappointed that I don't get a special cake made from you..."

"Oh, u-uh…! I can make you some sweets during the summer festival!" I quickly suggested, causing Ryo to look up at me with wide eyes.

"R-Really?" Ryo asked, surprised. I nodded in reply, feeling my heart beginning to beat as the corner of my lips started to twitch as well. Why does it seem that whenever Ryo smiles at me, I feel trapped by him…?

"I want some too!" Nanako suddenly exclaimed, tugging my sleeve. I blinked rapidly in surprise, turning my attention to her and free from Ryo.

"Don't leave me out of this! I want some ice candies" Kanji cheered, seeming rather happy at the fact of eating ice candy even though I never said I was going to make him some. I felt drop of sweat roll down my jaw when he accidentally stabbed his thumb on the sewing needle from being too excited. That must be the first time I ever saw him poke himself during the past few hours.

"Way to ruin our moment, you two..." Ryo sighed, sweat rolling down his jaw as well. "And hey, don't go asking her to make you some candy! You don't even know if she can make ice candies- _I_ don't even know what that is!"

"Oh, uh… Sorry about that" Kanji apologized, shortly licking his thumb to treat the sting he must have felt.

"I think I've heard of ice candy before, but I've never made it..." I hummed, thinking back. "But I can make shingen mochi! Will that be okay?" Kanji, still licking his thumb like a cat, blinking slowly as if to put together what I said.

"What's shingen mochi?" Nanako asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, you mean that water cake that dissolves quickly and turns into water almost immediately being served?" Kanji asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, _that_ one! It's from the Yamanashi prefectures, right? Is that where you came from?" Ryo asked, excitedly. I shook my head.

"No, but my Senpai took me to Fujikawa once during the summer when we were children. I thought it was delicious and asked for the recipe. Later, during the summer festival, I made it and served it to the original chef who complimented me and said that it surpassed his" I explained, recalling the memories as if it were yesterday. "So it's become a bit of a tradition to make some during the summer."

"That's pretty tight. Summer traditions are the best!" Kanji cheered, pleased with my little story. Ryo chuckled as he nodded in agreement, continuing with his duty of putting the meat on sticks.

"This Senpai of yours seems to know what's up! Did she make some with you?" Ryo asked.

"No, just me. And my Senpai was actually a boy" I corrected, scooping up a little bit of the ice-cream cake batter and giving it to Nanako. I know I put too much salt in the mix, but Nanako seems to enjoy it. Happy at the small offer, Nanako grabbed the spoon that held the mixture and happily licked it.

"H-Huh? A _male_ upperclassmen…?!" Ryo stammered, blushing a little. Kanji looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Ryo as he began to fidget, looking down at the floor.

"What's wrong with you?" Kanji asked, perplexed, as Ryo looked up at me with questioning eyes. But before Ryo could reply, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Oh, that must be Yukiko-chan!" I exclaimed, glad that she managed to make it after all.

I turned my attention to Nanako and nodded at her. "Nanako, can you get the door for me?" Nanako nodded obediently with a smile and walked to the front door, asking who it was first.

"So, um, d-did you like your senpai? You know… _That_ way?" Ryo asked, catching my attention. He seemed a bit calmer now, but his face was rather red. I hummed and tilted my head in reply, unsure of what he meant.

"Dude, don't go asking her questions like that! Makes you sound creepy" Kanji remarked, causing Ryo to flinch. He began to stammer strange sounds as his face turned redder, his expression turning frustrated.

"Well, uh… I liked him very much? He was a very important person in my life- like a big brother" I explained. Ryo looked up at me and blinked, his expression much more relaxed as his red flush vanished almost instantly.

"Oh… Okay..." Ryo muttered, blinking nervously as he began to sweat.

"Huh? Ryo and Kanji are here too?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I turned towards the door and saw Yukiko wearing her casual clothes while standing next to a smiling Nanako.

"'Sup" Kanji greeted. As Yukiko and Nanako approached me, I cleaned my hands covered with flour and cake batter with my apron.

"These guys were the only one who had the day off, so I asked them to come over and pitch in too!" I explained, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a small apron for Yukiko to wear.

"...And what are you guys doing, exactly?" Yukiko asked, her hand accepting the apron while she glanced back and forth between Kanji and Ryo.

"I'm making Nise-senpai a dog plush" Kanji replied, blushing a little in embarrassment.

"Nanako-chan and I are making steak bits for Hitomi-senpai to cook later" Ryo replied as he held up his 15th meat stick.

"And the two of _us_ will make Nise-kun's cake" I instructed, dragging her over to the counter behind me- only to be stopped short. I looked over at Yukiko and blinked, noticing the strained expression on her face.

"U-Us? B-But I-I can't…!" Yukiko stammered, light pink dusting her cheeks.

"It'll be fine. Think of how happy Nise-kun will be when he finds out that all of his friends made all of this for him!" I reassured. Yukiko blinked nervously as she glanced around the room.

"...Um, but Berry and Yosuke aren't here" Yukiko pointed out.

"Berry picked out the fabric and steak" Ryo began, continuing his work with Nanako by his side. "While Yosuke-senpai paid for them" Kanji finished, shortly biting his sewing string off of the plushie.

"See? Everyone pitched in!" I huffed in triumph, glad that my plan was coming along so well so far. "So! What cake does Nise-kun like? Strawberry or chocolate?" Yukiko stared at me for a moment, her eyes seeming to scream a sort of pain… She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thinking.

"Um… He's more of a chocolate guy..." Yukiko replied as she tied the apron around her waist. "But he also likes to eat the strawberry bits on the top of strawberry shortcakes."

"Oh, why don't you put them on top then? You can't go wrong with chocolate covered strawberries" Ryo suggested.

"Yum! That sounds good!" Nanako giggled. I nodded, liking the idea as well.

"Alright, let's do that then. But we might have to call Yosuke-kun again and ask him to buy some more chocolate..." I hummed, feeling bad that we were using Yosuke as our bank at the moment.

"Oh hey, you should probably message Nise-senpai or his folks so that they won't be surprised when Narukami-senpai delivers this tomorrow" Kanji suggested. Yukiko nodded and pulled out her iPhone, shortly texting Nise's mother.

* * *

"Whew… I'm exhausted..." Yukiko sighed as we both sat down on the couch, Nanako happily munching on the cake we messed up on. It was around five in the evening now, the boys leaving about two hours ago. To repay them for their hard work, I baked some of the pastries along with the few cake attempts Yukiko and I made. Yukiko had short moments of putting similar looking ingredients into the batter, but other than that we did pretty well together. We only messed up about two cake batters before getting it just right. When Yosuke came around to give us the chocolate we asked for, he also bought a cotton yellow wristband for Nise as a present and some snacks for Nanako to munch on tomorrow. Feeling awful for Yosuke buying Nanako food, I gave him some money to repay his kindness, to which Yukiko teased us about acting like a married couple with Nanako acting as our daughter. Yosuke laughed it off, saying that he wouldn't be that good of a father since he doesn't really remind any of the kids that run around Junes to walk to avoid injury. I on the other hand felt my face heated up until he left, much to Yukiko's supposed delight.

"I never would have thought that preparing someone's birthday presents would be so tiring..." Yukiko laughed, weakly.

"And now, we wait..." I sighed, staring at the refrigerator where we prepared food was sitting in. There was a moment of peaceful silence in the room as Nanako quietly ate and read at the kitchen table.

"...Hi-chan?" Yukiko suddenly asked, catching my attention. "Why did you do this...? Why have everyone pitch in like this…?" I blinked at her question for a moment before looking down at my hands, recalling my idea for doing all of this.

"...Nise-kun keeps trying to be his own man" I began. "He worries about the others while hiding his real self _from_ them…. I want Nise-kun to remember that we're his friends and that he can open up to all of us- not just you and me."

"That's… Really kind of you..." Yukiko muttered, shifting a little. Looking over at her, I noticed that she looked rather… _upset_ about something. But I couldn't tell what she was feeling and why she was feeling that way. I shrugged slightly as I sighed a little.

"I suppose. I just want him to realize that he doesn't need to keep who he really is inside all the time..." I hummed. Silence filled the room once again.

After a moment, I asked,"Hey, will you be available again tomorrow?"

"Huh?" Yukiko gasped as she looked back at me. "Um… Yes, I will. Why?"

"To deliver this to Nise-kun's house" I replied, poking her arm. "I don't know where he lives, so I hope you don't mind guiding me there. What time should we meet up?"

"Oh, um… R-Right" Yukiko stuttered, glancing away. I blinked in surprise by this, wondering what was wrong. But before I could think about it too much, she looked at me and smiled. "I suppose 11:30 in the morning is fine… It usually takes thirty minutes to get to Nise's house. We'll meet up at Samegawa Flood Plains, alright?"

"Okay..." I replied with a nod. But I couldn't help staring at Yukiko, even when she stood up and asking to eat some of the cake with Nanako. There's something going on with her… I wonder if she's feeling ill?

* * *

Saturday, July 30th | _Afternoon_...

At 11:30, Yukiko and I met up at the Samegawa Plains like we agreed and made our way over to Nise's house. The walk there was unusually quiet on Yukiko's part, who I would have assumed to be excited to celebrate with the boy she romantically likes. But then again, she might have considered it a rather normal occasion since she's been friends with Nise for so long.

Upon arriving, I noticed that Nise's house was much more traditional than I had imagined. Resting near the Samegawa river, a little farther down from the floodplains, its traditional white body and dark brown roof decorated with straws. I couldn't help but stare at it's ancient like features as Yukiko knocked on the delicate door. After a moment of waiting, the sound of footsteps quick approaching the door snapped my attention to it. Soon, Nise's feminine face opened the door, his calm expression turning into one of shock and surprise.

"Uh..." was all Nise could manage, sweat rolling down his forehead. "...What are you two doing here?"

"Happy birthday, Nise-kun!" I chirped as I unconsciously stood up on my tiptoes, shortly standing normally once again.

"Huh...?" was all Nise could manage, blinking in surprise as he stared at me.

"Happy birthday" Yukiko repeated with a smile. Nise looked at her for a moment then back at me, as if trying to piece what we had said, together.

"Wait… for REAL?!" he suddenly shouted, startling Yukiko. "Y-You guys came here to say happy birthday to me?!"

"Not just say- celebrate!" I pointed out, lifting the bags up. "I have gifts and food from the others. But only Yukiko-chan and I could come out to spend it with you… The others did help out with preparing the stuff, though!"

"Seriously...?" Nise asked, his eyes watering. Yukiko and I nodded, causing Nise to wipe his eyes as he smiled sheepishly. "You guys… You didn't have to do that, you know?"

"True… But you're also our friend! So we couldn't just stand by" I replied, tilting my head slightly. Nise smiled widely as he blushed.

"May we come in?" Yukiko asked, causing Nise to gasp in realization that we were still standing outside.

"Oh, sorry! C-Come on in!" Nise laughed, embarrassed, moving way for us. I slid my shoes off and entered the surprisingly traditional house.

"Who was at the door, Nise?" the man asked before looking up from his newspaper. His face beamed at the sight of Yukiko, his muscular face no longer seeming intimidating. "Ah, Yukiko-chan! Good to see you. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes it has, Mr. Satonaka" Yukiko greeted with a smile, bowing a little. Slightly surprised that this man was Nise's father, I copied Yukiko's actions.

"Hm? Who are you?" Satonaka's father asked.

"Dad, this is my friend- Hitomi Narukami. She's the one who transferred here in the beginning of the school year" Nise introduced from behind Yukiko and me.

"Oh, _you're_ Narukami! My son keeps rambling on and on about you. I'm Hikaru Satonaka" Satonaka introduced. I bowed my head shyly as I felt his eyes stare at me like a small printed page. Hikaru hummed as he glanced over to Yukiko. "Not very lady like compared to Yukiko-chan, though..."

"Dad!" Nise snapped, causing Hikaru to simply grunt and walk towards, possibly, the living room. I blinked twice in surprise at Hikaru's words, slightly caught off guard at the fact that he called me 'unlady like'... And to compare me to Yukiko…? It surprisingly hurts a little…

"I'm sorry about him, he can be a little… rough sometimes" Nise apologized as he placed a hand on my shoulder, his face slightly red with embarrassment from his father's behavior.

"It's alright, no hard feelings" I replied simply. I couldn't help but stare at Nise's casual smile, wondering if he was a bit more like his father...

"Young man!" a surprisingly high voice shrieked, causing Nise and me to jump in surprise. Looking back down the small hall, I saw a woman with short brown hair, her hands on her hips. Her piercing dark eyes and clenched teeth seemed rather threatening- like an oni from Nanako's story books…

"How _dare_ you let such a delicate thing hold all those bags by herself for so long?! If I taught you anything, I would have thought it'd be a gentleman!" the woman shouted, making me assume that this woman was Nise's mother.

"S-Sorry! I'll put them on the kitchen table, mom" Nise apologized, quickly taking the bags from my hands before I could even stand up for myself.

"I'm so sorry about my ignorant son, Narukami-san. I'm Hanako Satonaka- it's so nice to have finally meet you! Nise talks a lot about you, you know?" Satonaka introduced herself.

"I'm glad to hear that, ma'am" I replied, feeling rather… honored that Nise had been talking so much about me to his parents.

"Please come in, you two. I'm so glad that you could make it- I've just started making omurice to eat along with your food!" Hanako ushered, motioning us to come towards her. I blinked in surprise having recently eaten omurice with the others… Is that why Nise looked so sick?

"Sounds good!" Yukiko smiled, looking happy… Maybe perhaps just a bit _too_ happy… I didn't pay it much mind however and walked towards Hanako, taking in the house. The features on the inside, though dabbed with traditional paper screen shoji walls and low seated tables, it was rather more modern than the appearance of the outside. Guided to the kitchen, Yukiko and I unpack the packages of food I made and shortly help set up the table.

While doing so, Nise gushed over his presents of the plush dog and the food everyone help make. Hikaru on the other hand simply read the newspaper at the table as if waiting to be served food. I couldn't help but glance over at him, wondering if he found this side of himself manly...

Once everything was served and set down on the table, Yukiko and I sat down as Nise and Hanako place the hot food down ready to be eaten.

"So Narukami, tell us a bit about yourself. Why was a city girl like you dropped out here in the countryside?" Hikaru asked, not even looking up at me from his paper- making me think that he didn't really care.

"Dad, I already told you… It's because of _family_ reasons…" Nise answered for me in a rather weak tone as he sat down. Hikaru growled as he slammed his paper on the table.

"Hmph! Such a pathetic response. Put some power into it!" Hikaru shouted, his entire body directed at Nise. "Are you a man or _aren't_ you?!"

"Dad, seriously, now's not the time!" Nise replied back, a lot louder than before. Soon, right before my eyes, the father and son of the Satonaka family began to argue over their manliness, uncaring for the guests in their presence.

"...Those two certainly get along well" I muttered to Yukiko sarcastically. Yukiko let out a nervous giggle as she looked over at me.

"If you push aside all their fighting, they do really care about each other. Both of them are just… really _thick-headed_ " Yukiko explained softly so that the two men wouldn't hear her.

"Alright you two, enough arguing at the table! We have guests, so mind your manners!" Hanako snapped as she set down the last bowl of the food. Looking over at Yukiko and me, she smiled gently and sat down. "I hope you enjoy, girls!"

"Thank you, ma'am" we replied at the same time _._ Nise and Hikaru let out a huff of frustration and anger before sitting properly and picking up their chopsticks, ready to eat. Following their example, Hanako, Yukiko, and I all picked up our chopsticks and began to eat. Eating the omurice and the barbeque caused the dryness of the rice and the juice from the meat clashed rather well. However, the omurice is a little overcooked… which makes the barbeque overpower the egg and rice.

"Nise? Why aren't you eating my omurice?" Hanako asked, noticing her son simply staring at her portion of the meal.

"I, uh… Already ate some while you weren't looking… So I'm trying to wash it down with Narukami's food?" Nise replied, his last bit sounding more like a guess than a statement. Hanako stared at Nise with a frozen smile that seemed more… frightening than loving. Suddenly, pulling out a ladle, Hanako took a large scoop of the omurice and lunged towards Nise.

"NO SON OF MINE WILL WASTE MY HARD WORK FOOD UNDER THIS ROOF!" Hanako screamed, forcibly shoving the omurice down her screaming son's throat. I could only stare in horror as I watched the family unravel, concern for Nise's health my main focus. I noticed in the corner of my eye that Hikaru was sweating nervously as he quickly ate the food, seeming frightened of his wife.

"...Which one is the real man of the house?" I managed to ask Yukiko, my eyes still glued to the scene before me.

"Usually Mr. Satonaka. But Ms. Satonaka is in charge whenever it comes to the cooking and cleaning of the house..." I heard Yukiko reply, sounding a bit nervous.

After a few more attempted thrusts of food, Nise finally began to fight Hanako back, telling her to calm down. But by doing this, Hikaru began to lecture Nise at how he should be more forceful towards women since he's a man, causing the two of them to argue. Soon, Hikaru joined in on the commotion, causing sweat to nervously roll down my forehead.

After a few more minutes, Nise finally snapped at their family feud and shouted while flinging his parents off of him, "Will you two knock it off, we have guests damnit!" Surprised by their son, Hanako's grip on the ladle loosen, causing it to fly directly at me. The ladle hit me right on the forehead, the omurice flying over and hitting Yukiko. I couldn't help but wince and whimper in pain, my eyes closing shut as my hands reflectively pressed down on my bandages.

"Ah! N-Narukami!" Nise squeaked, probably noticing that the ladle had hit me. I felt my head throb viciously in pain, daggers, and pins poking at my brain while it felt like a child was pulling on my hair. I bit my lower lip hard, silencing any sound of weakness. I could only lower my head to the table in front of me, my hands gripping my head.

"A-Are you okay, Hi-chan?" I heard Yukiko ask, her voice strangely soft and distant despite the fact that her hands gently pressed on my shoulders in concern. Feeling lightheaded, I quickly opened my eyes and blinked rapidly, balancing out the orbs of light that were dancing around my vision, as if mocking me. I could feel the eyes of the other's staring at me. I couldn't stay in this position for much longer- they'd start to worry and cancel the party. I took a few shallow breaths to ease my head and sat up straight. Once the throbbing lessened, I took a silent deep breath to relax.

"I-I'm fine. Don't worry about me" I replied softly, as I looked up at the others reassuringly.

After my little time in the spotlight, Nise stood up and scolded his parents, causing them to look down at their laps like children. Apologizing to me and cleaning up the mess they made, Hanako and Hikaru started acting like actual adults and the five of us continued with Nise's birthday lunch. It was rather enjoyable, for the most part. There were still bits here and there of awkward silence from the earlier events that took place, but at least Nise seemed happy when he opened up the presents that the others asked me to give him. After the presents, Nise and the others started to slice the cake while I excuse myself to go to the restroom.

The moment I stepped inside, I examined my head with the mirror above the sink, making sure that I wasn't bleeding. The good news is that I wasn't. The bad news is… my condition might have worsened- to the point where I need to see a doctor. Earlier, as I was eating the rest of my meal, my head continued to bother me… I heard voices of people I knew, but they were nowhere around. Nise's parent's faces were starting to blur. I need to see a specialist examine my head and get some prescriptions… But it'll be hard to do so without letting Dojima know. Sighing, I gently ran my hands through my short, silver hair; messing it up slightly. There's nothing I can do about it right now… So later tonight, when I return to the Dojima residence, I'll head straight to bed and rest…

Hopefully, everything will be fine tomorrow morning.

* * *

3rd POV

"I can't believe you had to see my folks like that..." Nise sighed as he lazily scrubbed the dishes, Hitomi drying them right beside him.

When the five of them had finished eating their lunch, Nise, Yukiko, and Hitomi all chatted and played fun tricks with Nise's dog- Chosokabe. As the heat began to rise, the children exhausted, Hanako and Hikaru ordered them to wash the dishes as they walked Chosokabe for him to do his business. Nise was angry with them for forcing their guests to clean their house along with their son on his birthday. But Yukiko and Hitomi didn't seem to mind and even started deciding what jobs they should do. Yukiko, having more knowledge on the house than Hitomi, was assigned to make sure that the living room was clean while Hitomi and Nise washed the dishes. Nise felt a little uneasy about making Hitomi work with him after that ladle had hit her right where her injury was, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she didn't seem to mind anything.

After she had returned from the bathroom, refusing to eat the cake she made since she had _plenty_ of sweets at the Dojima residence, Hitomi had become a lot quieter than usual. Yukiko had yet to notice, but Nise picked up on it rather quickly. Hitomi wasn't much of a talker to start with, but she would at least use gestures to show that she's invested in the conversation. But she hasn't even been doing _that_. Nise had been keeping a close eye on her, worried that his throwing ladle had really hurt her. After all, he can't really control his strength...

"God, they must look like complete asses… Having their son and friends clean the house while they walk a dog" Nise sighed, trying to make Hitomi talk.

"...It's fine. You can't change some people" Hitomi replied as she focused on drying the dishes. Nise felt a little at ease as he watched the short silver haired girl work next to him. He blushed as he continued to stare at her, his heart thumping as he glanced down at the plate in his hand.

"Hey, uh, thanks for going through all of this for me. It's been awhile since so many people made me something for my birthday. It was nice" Nise thanked, his eyes starting to get a little watery. His parents always made a huge fuss over him on his birthday, but they never really bothered to get him anything. Sure, he had his relatives from out of town stopping by and they usually bring something or do some stuff with him (some against his own will), but it's more along the lines of money or hand-me-downs that didn't really mean anything. To have actual, meaningful gifts from everyone… It really moved him.

"I'm glad… I hope that you'll start opening up to everyone now" Hitomi replied, her body shifting as she placed the dry plate down and picking up another one from the sink.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nise asked as he blinked in surprise, looking back at Hitomi. Hitomi stopped moving for a moment and looked up, staring out of the small window in front of them, humming.

"Well… How do I explain it?" Hitomi began, as she thought aloud. "You seem to really only cry around Yukiko-chan and me. And crying says a lot about who you are- you're more true to yourself." Nise blinked in surprise, startled and slightly confused at what Hitomi was talking about. "Growing up with parents like those, you must have thought that to be a man, you shouldn't shed any tears. And so you try really hard not to especially in front of the other guys. But because it's a part of who you are, I think that you shouldn't hide it from them..." Nise stared at Hitomi with wide eyes, finding everything that she had just said rather strange. But at the same time… He couldn't help but blush, wondering how much she thinks about him to have given him such a descriptive detail about his insecurities.

"...I think that last battle really damaged your head" Nise muttered jokingly as he glanced away to hide his blushed cheeks. "Well, I mean… Sure, it's _sort_ of true. I don't really cry in front of the other guys like I do with you and Yukiko, but it's not like I'm closing myself out completely to them." Nise's hands slowly lowered as his hands, taking serious consideration of what Hitomi said.

"It's sort of a guy thing, you know? To not cry in front of the other guys without a good reason? The most I can really do is… act like a coward" Nise continued, his eyes lowering. He then looked at Hitomi and smiled reassuringly, "But don't get me wrong- I'm a pretty tough guy, you know? Who just, uh… Likes to keep secrets, cry, and hide at the first sight of danger…?" Hitomi looked over at Nise for the first time, her gray eyes locking with his. Nise felt his heart skip a beat, his face heating up in embarrassment.

"Man, none of this makes sense! You're really weird, you know that?" Nise laughed nervously as he looked away. There was a slight pause of silence as Nise tried to calm himself down. Still feeling Hitomi's eyes on him, he glanced over at her shyly, not wanting to get trapped by her mesmerizing looks. "...Wh-What?"

"...It just seems like you're hiding something from me" Hitomi muttered, taking a step closer to him. Nise's heart began to beat faster as he took a step away from her, his face becoming redder than before.

"H-Huh? I-I'm not hiding anything from you!" Nise protested.

"...Are you sure?" Hitomi asked as she took a step closer, causing him to also take a step back- only to be stopped short by the counter next to him. Nise's heart thumped like crazy as he felt himself becoming mesmerized by Hitomi's eyes.

"W-Well, I..." Nise began, his voice losing itself as he slowly began to lean in. Hitomi suddenly blinked and brushed Nise's lips with her index finger, causing his whole body to shiver as she took a step away from him.

"WH-WHAT WAS TH-THAT F-FOR?! I-I MEAN… W-W-WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Nise squeaked, his face a whole new definition of red as he covered his lips with the back of his right wrist. Hitomi looked at him and blink.

"It's just some chocolate from the cake" Hitomi replied, sticking her index finger into her mouth. Nise felt his entire body turn cold as Hitomi pulled out her finger, humming. "Hm… It seems alright. Not too sweet that it's sickening..." Unable to hold up his body, Nise fell to the ground with his back leaning against the counter, his legs spread out with his head down.

"N-Nise-kun?! Are you alright?!" Hitomi squeaked as she kneeled down next to him, worried about her friends health.

"You're gonna be the death of me, I swear..." Nise sighed as he rubbed his face with both of his hands. Hitomi blinked in surprise and tilted her head.

"Huh? Uh, did I do something wrong?" Hitomi asked, confused as to why Nise would die because of her. Nise slowly removed his hands from his face and silently took a few deep breathes to calm himself down. Despite his excitement and joy to have the girl next to him care about him so much, he also felt a pit grow in his stomach, turning his blood cold.

In this little game of "chasing" between himself, the unconscious Yosuke, and Ryo; Nise knew that he was in last place. He didn't have that same bond that she and Yosuke had nor did he have the same charm that Ryo had that made him like a prince. But despite all of this, Hitomi had showed him kindness and compassion, his feelings towards her growing with every passing day.

Sighing, Nise muttered, "...No, you're fine." Hitomi huffed silently as she narrowed her eyes by the slightest of notion, causing Nie to blink in surprise.

"Hey, what did I say? Be more open to us! No need to keep in so many secrets!" Hitomi scolded softly, placing her hand on his shoulder. Nise blushed as he jerked up, looking up at her. It brought him happiness to hear her care so much about him, but it also stung his heart knowing that she didn't see him as a respective man.

"S-S-Sorry…" Nise stuttered, looking away.

"And there's no need to be so tense around us. Or to apologise… That's my job" Hitomi joked, trying to make Nise relax. Nise couldn't help but break into a smile, a bead of nervous sweat rolling down his jaw.

"Haha… Right. Sorry..." Nise laughed weakly. He glanced back over at Hitomi, just in time to see her tilt her head slightly, her hair covering a part of her face to make it seem like she was slightly smiling. The sight took Nise's breath away as they stared at each other, causing him to give in. He was about to do something that he knows will only hurt him.

"Um… Well then, I… I actually have something to confess..." Nise muttered, looking down at his hands. His heart was beating, his hands were trembling, and his breathing was shallow.

"What is it?" Hitomi asked, readjusting herself to sit comfortably on her knees.

"Um..." Nise began as his heartbeat echoed in his ears. Nise looked directly into Hitomi's eyes, causing her to blink in surprise, not used to the seriousness in his eyes.

"Look, I... I like you, Narukami..."

Hitomi blinked as she stared blankly at Nise, slowly taking in what he said. In a way, the silence stabbed the poor boy, anxiously taking in the painful thumping of his heartbeat.

"Huh? We're friends, so… Isn't the feeling mutual?" Hitomi asked, her words causing Nise to flinch.

Nise let out a dry laugh as he smiled sadly at Hitomi, stuttering, "N-No, I mean… In a _romantic_ sense." Hitomi blushed as she unconsciously gasped, surprised to hear her friend say that he actually developed romantic feelings towards her.

"O-Oh…!" was all that Hitomi could reply. Collecting her thoughts, she began to mutter and stutter words, trying to find a way to delicately give him her response. "Um, I-I'm sorry…! I, uh, I… I don't feel that way towards you… I-I'm so sorry…!" Nise, who knew that this was the reply he was going to get, smiled in reassurance at the nervous silver haired girl.

"No no no... There's no need to apologize!" Nise laughed weakly. "I didn't stand a chance anyway… I just wanted to get it off my chest… Best to feel no regret, right?" Hitomi stared at Nise with pained eyes, slowly looking down in guilt.

"I'm sorry..." Hitomi muttered, Nise's hands clenching unconsciously.

"Haha, for what? I told you- it's okay" Nise laughed reassuringly. Hitomi looked back up at Nise and flinched, her eyes looking a new kind of sad. Nise couldn't help but raise a brow at her expression.

"Nise-kun… You're crying" Hitomi muttered, her voice cracking a little. Nise blinked in surprise and touched his face, feeling the wet trails from his tears. He didn't know when they began to pour, but from the wetness of his face, tears have been and still _are_ streaming down his face. It was then that he realized how tight his entire chest was from being rejected. Looking down at his lap, wiping away the tears with the back of his hand, Nise let out a hitched laughed.

"Sorry, I, uh… This is so weird! I guess it, um, I didn't think it would hurt this much..." Nise laughed, embarrassed. Drying his eyes, he looked at Hitomi and smiled reassuringly. "But, hey…! Don't worry about me! I'm a tough guy, remember? I just… need a minute… Y'know, for my… Tears to stop..." Nise, unable to hide the tears anymore, let his head fall down on Hitomi's shoulder, causing her to freeze up. Feeling a surge of guilt wrap around her, Hitomi slowly wrapped her arms around Nise's frame to comfort him. Nise's bit his lower lip to muffle any sobs, Hitomi's body bringing him warmth and yet pain, her touch like toxic to him. The duo stayed in that position for a while as Nise's body shivered, silently sobbing.

"Hey... Hitomi-chan?" Nise asked after ten minutes, finally calming down. Surprised to hear her first name coming from Nise, Hitomi softly hummed in reply. "Can you… Please promise me something?"

"Wha… What is it?" Hitomi managed to ask, softly. Nise, despite the stiff mask his tears had created, managed to break into a smile at the sound of Hitomi's voice.

"Promise… That you'll still depend on me… And that you rejecting me today won't stop you from being happy… Okay?" Nise asked. He couldn't help but chuckle softly, imagining Hitomi blinking in confusion by his words. She _is_ a bit dense sometimes.

"I mean, knowing you… You'd feel too guilty to hang out with guys who make you happy… So, like, don't; okay?" Nise continued, clearing the confusion Hitomi had.

Hitomi stared ahead at the counter drawer in front of her, taking in Nise's words. She felt so guilty and yet… So _close_ to Nise now, having heard how he really felt about her- to hear him ask for such a thing like that. It showed Hitomi that he had been paying close attention to her. Nodding to make the promise with Nise, she heard something faint nearby and looked over to the entrance of the kitchen, just in time to see something move along the shadows beyond the wall. Blinking in confusion, Hitomi shrugged it off as her eyes playing jokes on her and slowly began to rub Nise's back in an attempt to better comfort him.

* * *

Sunday, July 31st | _Early Morning_...

The next day after the very emotional, and rather _painful_ birthday of Nise Satonaka, Hitomi laid on her futon while staring blankly at the ceiling at four in the morning.

After Nise had recovered from crying over Hitomi's rejection of his feelings, his parents son returned home with their dog. Nise acted normal, as if nothing had happened moments ago, and was forced to walk the girls home by his mother. Nise and Yukiko chatted happily as the three of them walked down the sidewalks, Hitomi silently walking beside the duo. At first, Nise and Yukiko didn't really mind that their friend was joining in on the conversation since it was more old stuff that the two did on Nise's previous birthdays, but the closer that the three of them got to the Central District did they start to worry. Hitomi was quiet- _too_ quiet- and at some times seem to just stop and look around the area as if she was lost. Nise and Yukiko were concerned for the short girl and both decided to take her home so that she could get some rest.

Yukiko helped Hitomi into the Dojima residence when she found out that Nanako wasn't home, going so far as to tuck Hitomi into her futon. Hitomi struggled to sleep, her world swirling before her, voices from her past whispering into her ear. At most, she managed to get only three hours of sleep that night.

Sighing, Hitomi sat up and gently rubbed her head. Since she couldn't go back to sleep, Hitomi decided to start the day early with some history summer homework. She slipped into some comfy black sweats, a white and green faded tank top, tied her hair into a short pigtail; and headed downstairs to eat something small before studying. If she tried to cook breakfast now, she would only wake up Nanako and Dojima.

As quietly as she could, Hitomi walked down the stairs and entered the living room, immediately stopping at the sight of Dojima who was leaning against the kitchen sink with a cup of coffee in his hand. The two locked eyes and blinked, surprised to see the other up so early.

Hitomi glanced down to break the intensity that was growing between them, noticing the keys dangling from Dojima's fingers and asked, "Oh, heading out?"

"...Yeah. Sorry, did I wake you?" Dojima asked, feeling slightly guilty at the thought of waking up his niece. He did stumble a bit while making his coffee since he didn't turn the light on. Hitomi shook her head gently and turned on the light, causing Dojima to hiss at the brightness.

"No, I just had a little trouble sleeping and decided to get up" Hitomi replied, walking over to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down in front of her uncle. Dojima blinked at this and placed a new and clean cup as well as his keys down on the table.

"Trouble sleeping? Is everything okay? You _have_ been taking your meds, right?" Dojima asked, worried, as he reached over and grabbed the coffee pot. After the bullying incident, Dojima has been making sure to keep a close eye on Hitomi's medication, making sure that she's taking it every morning.

"Yes, I have… But that's not the issue" Hitomi began, images from yesterday flashing in her mind as she watched Dojima pour fresh coffee into her cup. Once Hitomi's cup was filled, Dojima returned the coffee pot and stood next to his niece, encouraging her to continue with a nod. Hitomi took a quick sip and sighed.

"One of my friends… Told me that they liked me- romantically- and I turned them down since I didn't feel the same way… But I felt guilty and now I'm worried that we'll start acting strangely with each other..." Hitomi explained, shyly. Dojima froze at what he had just heard, questions spiraling inside of his head.

"Uhm, well… Hm..." Dojima hummed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, annoyed that someone tried to ask out his niece... But he also felt sympathetic towards her for beating herself up over the whole situation. _She really is a good kid- just like her father_ , Dojima thought.

"You two get along well, yeah?" Dojima asked. Hitomi nodded in reply. "Then there's nothing to worry about. Just keeping acting the way you usually do around him... It'll only hurt the guy more if you start acting awkward after what happened." Hitomi nodded slowly, taking in Dojima's advice as he grabbed his keys off the table.

"...Alright. Thank you, Dojima" Hitomi thanked, feeling better.

"No problem. It's what uncles do, right?" Dojima replied, flashing a calm smile. His smile soon turned rather cold as he gripped his keys. "But if another boy tries to ask you out again, let them know that they have to go through me first, got it?" Hitomi blinked and nodded nervously in reply as a bead of sweat roll down her jaw. It was a bit unusual for her to see her uncle act like this...

"Well, I'll be heading out now. Lock up after me, will you?" Dojima asked as he picked up his gray jacket and threw it over his left shoulder. Hitomi nodded in reply and got up, carrying her cup of coffee.

"Oh, right!" Dojima suddenly exclaimed, causing Hitomi to blink in surprise. Dojima turned around and pulled out a small envelope from his left jacket pocket and handed it to Hitomi. She stared at the envelope, noticing the weight of it. Opening it with one hand, she saw that the envelope continued a rather large sum of cash.

"What's this for?" Hitomi asked as she looked up at him.

"The 20,000 is for you. For getting good grades on your final. The rest is for an umbrella Nanako's been wanting, the Love-Line Detective one" Dojima explained as he headed over to the front door, slipping his feet into his brown loafers. "Since I'll be at work all day, can you buy it for me? Let her know that it's from the two of us."

"Sure. Is it over in Shiroku?" Hitomi asked as Dojima tapped his shoes, securing the shoes on his feet.

"Yeah. But if they sold out, then you'll have to drive over to CoCo's Fur over in Okina City" Dojima replied. Hitomi nodded in understanding and walked over and waved Dojima goodbye as he left the house, closing the door behind him. Hitomi walked over and locked the door like he had asked and returned to the kitchen to get a little something to eat as she originally planned.

After she snacked on some fruits, Hitomi quietly headed upstairs back to her room and worked for a good hour or so on history and English. At around seven, she heard Nanako flush the toilet downstairs and decided to head down, the two making breakfast together.

* * *

 _Afternoon…_

Our silver haired heroine was walking rather slowly with one hand on her head and another on a rather cute, pink umbrella she had just purchased from Shiroku. The umbrella's had just arrived at the store a few days ago, the box they were displayed in practically empty due to all the mother's buying the umbrellas for their daughters. Hitomi was lucky, buying the umbrella today.

 _Love-Line… She's super cute!_ _It's just like Mimi to love an anime with such a cute protagonist. It almost looks like her too…_ Hitomi thought, her head throbbing with each step she took. For some reason, after cooking breakfast with Nanako that morning, Hitomi's head had been in pain; her world blurring every now and again while occasionally turning monochrome. The wind seemed frigid despite the summer heat and occasionally seemed to carry the voices of the past, causing Hitomi's body to shiver even more.

Unable to endure it, Hitomi stopped in her tracks and looked around for a place to rest. Much to her surprise, she had unconsciously stumbled into the Samegawa Flood Plain. Finding the glistening river an excellent relaxation method, Hitomi slowly fumbled down the hill, not wanting to fall. When she reached the base of the hill, she noticed a familiar little girl sitting on top of a rock, staring out into the horizon. Blinking in surprise, Hitomi walked towards the little girl.

"Hi, Hachi-chan" Hitomi greeted, catching Hachi's attention.

"Oh, it's you..." Hachi mumbled, rather pleased and surprised to see Hitomi.

"I'm Narukami. Hitomi Narukami" Hitomi introduced herself, realizing that she never did properly introduced herself to the girl. Hachi smiled a little and nodded in reply.

Tilting her head to the side, Hitomi asked: "Is everything alright?"

"Um… I have a request for you, but..." Hachi began, sounding hesitant. "Do you think you could help me out?"

"What's your request?" Hitomi asked squatting down so that she was at eye level with Hachi. Hachi blinked in surprise at the silver haired girl, happy yet slightly concerned at her eagerness to help strangers… With a deep breath, Hachi closed her eyes and puffed out her cheeks, earning a "cute point" in Hitomi's book.

"I'm tired of looking just like my sister. It's so tiring to have to repeat 'No, I'm Hachi' over and over again!" Hachi began, crossing her arms over her chest. "So I want to wear something that she doesn't have every day so that people can start to identify me more easily. Something that doesn't involve my hair or eyes- 'cause that'd just make my parents mad."

"I see… Did you have anything in mind?" Hitomi asked. Hachi nodded, blushing a little at the thought of it.

"Yeah, actually. There's this flower brooch at Junes that's really pretty and also really cheap. But since I'm a kid, I don't have any money to buy it…" Hachi replied, her words trailing off.

Hitomi thought about it for a minute. Since it was over at Junes, Hitomi could buy the brooch and say hi to Yosuke for them to chat for a little while. It _had_ been a while since the two got to properly sit down and chat. The day when he acted as her errand man didn't really count since he would have to return to work... And besides, it'd be nice to look around at the different types of jewelry they had available.

After a moment, Hitomi nodded, stood up and said, "Alright, I get where this is going. Don't worry, I'll help you out."

"Really?!" Hachi exclaimed in surprise. "Thank you so much! You're a big help!" Hitomi nodded, glad to be helping out a child. Promising each other to meet up later at the same place, the two parted ways- both feeling excited for their own separate reasons.

* * *

The moment that Hitomi had entered the large supermarket, a wave of comfort and welcome splashed her in the face- her earlier head pains no longer bother her. With a sigh of relief, she confidently walked over to a cashier and asked for directions to the jewelry department.

As she walked in the direction the cashier had told her, she tried her best to casual look around for her partner, wanting to spend time with him. But instead, she bumped into someone else- someone who was looking very pretty in the girl's clothing department. There was something about them though that really stood out to her in a… familiar sort of sense. Hitomi was surprised at the name that popped into her head the more she stared at the very pretty person.

"N-Nise-kun…?" Hitomi muttered in surprise, causing the "very pretty person" to gasp and turn around.

Hitomi couldn't believe it. It really _was_ Nise!

And not only that, he was wearing a white summer dress with a pale yellow shawl, a white summer hat, and was carrying around a matching yellow purse. And to top it all off, Nise's face was even dabbed lightly with make up. Hitomi couldn't help but feel a little tense, wondering if Nise had decided to become a girl after being rejected by her. Glancing down, Hitomi noticed that Nise was also wearing a pair of green sweats under the dress, making her relax. Just a little.

"...Why are you wearing-" Hitomi began.

"I-It's not what it looks like! I'm not becoming a girl, I swear!" Nise protested, his face red with embarrassment. Hitomi stared at Nise for a moment, glad that he wasn't becoming a girl.

"...Okay" Hitomi replied, still rather confused by his attire. Nise stammered, clearly flustered that the girl who he still cares about has witnessed him in a _dress_.

Meanwhile, a rather familiar fawn haired boy was running down the department, desperately searching for someone. It was Yosuke, sweating with a big smile on his face as he ran around the department. Just now, a co-worker of his said that he saw a pretty cute girl with unusual silver hair asking if Yosuke was working. He didn't even have to know the name of the girl to know that it was Hitomi and immediately left his post to go look for her. As he exited the jewelry department, which was practically empty aside from the few rich city folks from Okina City, and entered the women's clothing department; Yosuke found the silver head of a very familiar girl. Yosuke's heart skipped a beat as his smile widened, not even noticing the "lady" she was talking to.

"Hey, wassup partner! What are you doing in the-" Yosuke began, smiling brightly to see her. Hitomi looked over at Yosuke and then back at Nise, Yosuke following her gaze. His expression suddenly went blank when he realized who and what they wearing. Looking Nise up and down, Yosuke walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Nise to flinch.

"...I knew this day would come" Yosuke muttered, his blank expression breaking into a strained frown as he suppressed a laugh. Nise's face turned red as he growled.

"Shut up, Yosuke! You don't even know what's going on, man!" Nise snapped, weakly slapping his arm off his shoulder.

"Then what _is_ going on? Why are you wearing make up and carrying around that purse?" Yosuke asked, letting out a huff of laughter. Nise threw down the purse and took off the sun hat, messing up his hair. Yosuke picked up the purse, making sure it was damaged, as Nise sighed in embarrassment and frustration.

"...My nieces from out of town came over this morning because they missed out on my birthday yesterday. Their mom's are completely _insane_ and have the weirdest fascinations of dressing me up like a girl" Nise explained, his lips puckering slightly, bringing out _very real_ feminine features of his powdered face. Hitomi couldn't help but look away, wanting to save the respect she had to Nise as a man.

"Well, I can blame them. You do have girly cheek bones" Yosuke joked as he pinched Nise's cheeks. Nise shook his head, Yosuke's fingers slipping from the powder.

"Yeah? Well, at least I don't have a delicate nose like you" Nise growled, taking hold of Yosuke's nose. He suddenly gasped and took a step back, gripping his head. "DAMNIT! I'm even _talking_ like them!"

Yosuke couldn't help but laugh as he rubbed his nose, finding the whole situation hysterical. Nise glanced over at Hitomi and blushed, embarrassed to be seen like this in front of her. But he was rather glad to see that Hitomi hadn't changed after the rejection last night… He wouldn't know what to do with himself if she had started acting differently around him. If anything, it would break his recovering heart if their friendship ended up breaking as well. When Hitomi looked over at Nise, their eyes locking, Nise couldn't help but crack one of his usual smiles. Noticing this, Hitomi relaxed as well, her face returning to it's delicate features.

"Oh Nise, darling, look what we found!" an _incredibly_ sophisticated and feminine voice called out, causing Nise to freeze as his friends blinked in surprise. Two rather chubby women were holding different kinds of clothing and accessories, their features surprisingly similar to Nise. One woman had dyed dirty blonde hair while another had natural red hair, their eyes both green.

"These earrings would look lovely on you! And they'll compliment this dress we got you!" the black haired aunt laughed, her laughter similar to that of a mistress. Hitomi and Yousuke both felt a drop of sweat roll down their jaws as the two ladies started putting on different kinds of hats and clip-on earrings on him.

"Yikes… I almost feel bad for Nise, now" Yosuke muttered to Hitomi, earning a nervous nod in agreement. The two aunts looked past their nephew in surprise, seeming to have heard Yosuke. The two ladies squealed loudly, causing the three teenagers to flinch, as they pushed past Nise and moved Hitomi aside; giving Yosuke their undivided attention.

"Oh my! Look at that _nose_! It's so pretty!" the aunt with the dirty blonde hair squealed, as if imitating a young high school girl.

"H-Huh?" Yosuke stammered, uncomfortable by the ladies touching his face and arms.

"Well aren't you the cutest thing!" the black haired aunt chimed, rubbing Yosuke's arms. "A little muscular, but still a complete charmer! Ah, I have just the thing for you~!" The black haired aunt suddenly pulled out a white, frilled blouse and the blonde haired aunt pulled out an orange mini-skirt, the two ladies placing them on top of Yosuke's work clothes.

"Look at this orange skirt! It would look _swell_ on you and your hair!" the blonde aunt giggled, causing Yosuke to being sweating nervously. Nise on the other hand has been grinning the entire time.

 _Karma's a bitch, isn't it, Yosuke?_ Nise thought to himself as he watched the whole thing unfold.

"Oh, speaking of hair, let's get you that _cuuute_ white and orange summer hat! It's going to _really_ bring out your features, we promise!" the black haired aunt exclaimed as she clapped her hands together in delight.

"W-Wait, I-I'm not… I-I mean, I have work to do, so…!" Yosuke stammered, trying to get himself out of this mess. However, the two ladies simply ignored Yosuke's blabbering and grabbed him and Nise by the arm; dragging them towards some dressing rooms. At the sudden kidnapping of her friends, Hitomi flinched, stunned by what had just happened.

"Hitomi-chan, HELP ME!" Yosuke cried out, reaching his hand out for her in desperation.

"Y-Yosuke-kun! Nise-kun!" Hitomi stuttered, realizing that the longer she takes in saving them, the more therapy the boys will need in their lives.

Running after the ladies and her stolen friends, Hitomi cried out after them: "Please wait! Don't shatter their remaining dignitttttttttttttttttty!"

* * *

"...Somehow, I feel violated" Nise mumbled.

"...Somehow, I feel like more of a man than before" Yosuke admitted in an uncertain tone.

"...Somehow, I got the flower brooch I was looking for" Hitomi hummed, curious as to how she managed to buy it during that entire thing.

The three of them were lying down on the cool, marbled flooring of the electronics department in front of the TV they use to enter the other world. It had been a long, outrages, and difficult fight… But by working together (and threatening to call security), half an hour lady the two boys managed to escape the cross-dressing fanatic women related to Nise. With some distractions and the use of security, the three of them all made a run for it to the only deserted department they could think of to have a minute along by themselves.

Nise, surprised to hear that Hitomi went to Junes for jewelry, sat up and looked at Hitomi with widen eyes.

"You were looking for a flower brooch?" Nise asked. Hitomi nodded in reply and showed the simple, sparkling jeweled daisy shaped brooch. Nise smiled a little as he showed it to Yosuke, shortly returning it to Hitomi.

"Nice, very girly… I didn't think that you'd be into this sort of stuff" Yosuke commented, he too sitting up. Hitomi closed her eyes and huffed, blushing a little at the boys surprise that she would like something like this. It shouldn't be _that_ much of a surprise...

"I'm not. I prefer lockets or necklaces… They make good fidgeting distractions" Hitomi pointed out as she opened her eyes and sat up. "There's this little girl who asked me to get her one for personal reasons..."

"And you agreed?" Yosuke asked, raising a brow in amusement. Hitomi blushed a little and nodded, causing the boys to smile.

"Pft, that's so like you!" Nise laughed as his body fell back to the marble tile, still tired from everything. Yosuke chuckled as he lightly punched Nise's resting body.

There was a moment of silence between the trio, the boys smiling while Hitomi's eyes were half open in relaxation. She felt as though the three of them had gotten closer, their bonds strengthening even just a bit.

"...Are you guys feeling what I'm feeling?" Yosuke asked, breaking the silence.

Nise closed his eyes and shivered, rolling onto his stomach, muttering "If you mean sweat and cold shivers, then yeah."

"Shut up, Nise. You know what I mean" Yosuke groaned, a little ticked that he ruined the moment the three were having. Nise opened his eyes and looked over at Hitomi, who was staring at him. He blinked once and then smiled, averting his eyes from hers.

"...Yeah, I feel it" Nise hummed, sitting up so that he was facing Yosuke and Hitomi. "I guess it's only reasonable. After all, the three of us were the ones who started and stuck together through everything so far!"

"Hey, that's right! Poor Yukiko- she ended up being left out in the beginning" Yosuke laughed weakly, feeling a bit sorry for Yukiko, being left out of moments like these. But despite this, the three of them still had a strong bond with the heirstress.

"Hells yeah for the ultimate trio!" Nise cheered, smiling widely as he pumped a fist in the air.

"Hells yeah!" Yosuke joined in, repeating Nise's action.

"...You guys are weird" Hitomi hummed, the corner of her lips twitching violently at the boys. "...But yeah. Here's to the ultimate trio. And may we stay that way!"

* * *

 _Evening..._

Hitomi's POV

After the whole situation with Nise and his aunts, Nise left shortly after receiving a rather violent phone call from his parents. With the moment alone, Yosuke and I decided to talk for a while as I bought dinner. I was at Junes, after all, might as well buy something for Nanako. Sadly, since Yosuke still had work, we couldn't continue our conversation on my way to the Dojima residence. After buying two bentos, I said farewell to Yosuke, met up with Hachi like we had agreed, and then walked to the Dojima residence.

Nanako, who had heard the door open, ran up to me with a smile. Noticing the umbrella in my hand, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"No way! It's Love-Line!" Nanako squealed, happy to see the umbrella. I nodded and handed the umbrella to her, causing Nanako to look up at me in surprise as she gripped it in her small hands.

"You father and I bought it for you" I explained.

"You and Daddy?" Nanako asked, her cheeks reddening as her lips stretched into a smile. I nodded in reply, slipping off my shoes. Nanako squealed and hugged my waist, her face resting against my stomach.

"Yay! Thanks, Big Sis!" Nanako giggled, shortly letting go and running to her room. I felt something tickle my throat as the corner of my lips twitched, watching Nanako's pigtails bounce with each step she took. My head suddenly throbbed, my eyes widening in pain.

I gripped my head in pain, my nails practically clawing into my skin, as I gasped for air; unable to breathe. The pain was unbearable and felt like two rough pebbles grinding together, with bits chipping off. Screams of pain, horror, and anger rang in my ear; demanding for something… Someone back. The floor seemed to sway, the stormy waters attacking the ship with the goal to sink it into the abyss. Shaking my head, I slammed my hands onto the door behind me, the force vibrating throughout my body.

Suddenly, the pain vanished. The sea had subsided, letting the planks of wood float helplessly on its surface… Opening my eyes that had unconsciously squeezed shut, the door leading out of the Dojima residence looked different and yet… familiar. Blinking a few times, my body unconsciously stumbled backwards, my legs unable to support the tremendous weight that it was so used to carrying. Sitting down on the platform, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself.

A frozen snake slithered down my back, earning a surprised gasp to escape me. Softly grabbing hold of my arms, I felt... afraid. Something was wrong with me- it's undeniable at this point. I need medical attention… But how am I going to get it without worrying anyone? This town is so small, I'm sure it wouldn't be a secret for long if I ended up going to the hospital for a check up. And currently, all my medical information is being shared with Dojima- meaning that if I visit the hospital, he's going to find out…

Feeling the snake from earlier slithering around my body once again, I shivered and rubbed my forehead in frustration. Why can't I just go to the hospital-?!

"Big Sis? Is everything okay?" two familiar voices called out softly from behind me. My body froze, sweat dripping off my face. Slowly looking over my shoulder, I saw two little girls standing side-by-side to each other… One was a worried Nanako, her adorable eyes staring at me in concern… While the other was a happily smiling… Mimi. At the sight of Mimi, my vision suddenly shifted to red and grey, causing me to gulp loudly.

"Yeah… I'm fine..." I began slowly with the feeling of waterfalls poured off my face.

"Yeah. Everything's perfectly fine… Mimi."

* * *

Monday, August 1st | _Morning_...

The next morning, after a restless night's sleep, I continued working on my summer homework while munching on a freshly toasted piece of bread with a sunny-side up egg on top of it.

"I'm off!" two voices suddenly called out, catching my attention. Looking over at Nanako's room, I noticed that Nanako and Mimi were walking over to the front door; Nanako vanishing from sight as Mimi slipped on a pair of shoes.

"Where are you headed to, Mimi?" I asked, getting up from the chair and walking over to her. Mimi's black hair fluttered happily as she turned around and faced me with a smile.

"Oh, um… Ha-chan invited me to her house to see if she won the Love-Line contest!" Mimi explained, her tone earlier not matching her smile.

"Contest?" I asked, tilting my head a little. My vision suddenly shifted, Mimi vanishing as Nanako's calm smile replaced her.

"Yeah! Last week on T.V, the producers of the show held a contest for fans to send in drawings!" Nanako explained, as I blinked- wondering where Mimi had gone off to. "Ha-chan drew this really pretty picture of Love-Line and today's the day that the winner is revealed!" Untilting my head to its earlier position, Nanako suddenly disappeared as Mimi returned, her little body wrapped around a fuzzy winter coat.

"I see! That's very exciting" I chimed, glad to see Mimi again. "Is there anything you want for dinner?" Mimi hummed for a moment, puckering out her lips a little (a cute habit of her when she thinks).

"Um… Curry, please!" Mimi requested happily. I nodded in reply and watched her open the door.

"Take care now, Mimi!" I called out as she started to close the door. Mimi looked up at me and smiled happily, just before closing the door entirely. With Mimi and Nanako now out of the house, I returned over to my summer homework and continued to work.

* * *

 _Afternoon_...

"Whew, it's been awhile since I've been here" I sighed, wiping the sweat off of my forehead.

After I finished my history and English homework, I decided to go on a relaxing ride on my scooter. It had been a while since I've ridden the thing and it was far too hot to stay inside or walk around Inaba. So, I decided to drive over to Okina City.

Placing my helmet slowly on my scooter's right handle, I took a deep breath of the familiar city air, feeling surprisingly uncomfortable by the familiar scents it had with the big city back home. Noticing the stares I was receiving from several people, both men and women alike, I hopped off my scooter and started walking around.

The first place that caught my eye was the cafe where that strange, bald man was standing in front of the first time I bumped into him. That man was pretty strange… What was he talking about again? Something about resolve? Shaking my head, clearly unable to remember, I turned on my heels and walked in the opposite direction. The last thing I need right now is to bump into that guy again...

After a good ten minutes of walking around, I decided to take a detour into the fabrics store when I noticed that they were having a 50% sale on pretty much everything being sold. Even though I knew how to sew, it wasn't exactly my most favorite hobby in the world. In all honesty, I decided to go inside the shop to buy some fabrics for Kanji. He's the master craftsmen after all.

Once I was finished shopping, having purchased several bright colored fabric sheets and matching thread, I decided to return to Inaba and see Ryo in Marukyu. It's been awhile since I've made my famous tofu curry combo…

* * *

I stared blankly at the wooden planks acting as stairs up the familiar large hill that overlooked the town.

"Oh..." I hummed, a bead of sweat rolling down my jaw as I looked from where I came from. "I could have sworn I stuck to the main path… How did I get here?" I hummed in thought, wondering how I could have lost my way.

"S-Senpai?" a familiar voice nervously called out. I blinked in surprise and looked up the hill, Kanji standing at the top of it in surprise.

"Kanji-kun? What are you doing here?" I called out.

"That's what I should bas askin' _you_!" Kanji replied, carefully walking down the steps to me. He stopped at the fourth step down, taking notice of my scooter.

"...Oh. Got lost?" Kanji asked. I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, averting my eyes in slight shame.

"Well, that's one way to say it" I muttered in reply. I rubbed the engine and prepped the scooter to ride out. "Sorry to bother you! I'll leave, so go back to whatever you were doing."

"Er, do you even know how to get back?" Kanji called out in question as he continued to walk down the stairs, causing me to freeze. I… I didn't know my way back to town.

"Heh. I'll walk you home" Kanji chuckled, jumping down the last few steps, causing me to gasp a little in surprise. Nodding at me to follow him on foot, he began to walk down the sloping hill.

"Sorry about that..." I mumbled in apology, turning off the engine and jumping off my scooter, pushing it forward as I quickly caught up to Kanji.

"Don't apologize. It's cool" he replied, simply. There was a moment as silence as the two of us walked, my focus mainly on pushing my scooter without injuring anyone.

"Hey, why were you up there in the first place?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Eh, well, I've always liked that place. Being able to see my house and school and everything from up here… It makes me feel small" Kanji replied truthfully, without any hesitation. I hummed and nodded in agreement.

"I understand the feeling… That place seems to really have the charm that makes you appreciate things" I replied. It was nice to hear and experience this side softer side of Kanji… He's always trying to act like a "big man" and keep his manly image despite the fact that he's nothing more than a teddy bear...

Kanji smiled and nodded, his cheeks flaring up a little to a light pink, pumping his left fist into the sky, cheering: "Yeah, exactly! And it's relaxing too since no one really comes up there!"

I felt something tickle my throat as I looked around the area, trying to take in and memorize the scenery so I can stop getting lost at this place… In the corner of my eye, I noticed a group of children running about happily near a familiar stylized gazebo with a few adults chasing after them.

"Hm? Hey, what's that?" I asked curiously, stopping in my tracks as I failed to avert my eyes from the place. There was something about the children's smiles that really captivated me, my head starting to throb a little.

"Oh, that place? That's the Daycare Center" Kanji explained, having stopped in his tracks as well. "You'd usually have to ride the bus to get there- unless you have another way of transportin'." I hummed softly in surprise, noticing that a rather familiar little boy was running towards us with a large smile on his face.

"Hey, Mister! There you are!" the boy called out, causing Kanji to snort in confusion. As the boy got closer to us, I realized that he was the boy who was asking for Kanji the day he was thrown into the television. It was thanks to him that we were able to get useful information out of him.

The boy happily approached Kanji, panting heavily from running, and bowed deeply the moment he stood a mere five inches away. Kanji flinched in surprise, clearly startled by the boy's sudden action.

When the boy stood back up, he nervously exclaimed, "Um, I just wanted to let you know that Sana-chan was really happy! So, um, can you make some more, Mister? My mom _really_ wants one! Oh, and Sana-chan's mom does too! They said they'll pay you!" I blinked in surprise at the sudden request falling out of the child's mouth and looked at Kanji, whose face was as bleached as his hair.

"P-Pay me!?" Kanji exclaimed in disbelief. His face suddenly turned red as he looked around nervously, rubbing the back of his head with clearly sweaty palms. "I don't need that… I-It ain't like I'm a pro at this…!"

"Oh, I'd disagree about that..." I teased, earning a surprise stammer from him. I was really proud and happy for Kanji! It's not everyday that a boy as young as him get's offered a job like this.

"My mom wants a cat, and Sana-chan's mom wants a dog… And my teacher wants a pink alligator" the boy listed, ignoring Kanji's earlier comments about not being a pro.

"A pink alligator?" Kanji repeated, raising an eyebrow. I hummed for a second, wondering as to why the request seemed so familiar to me. That's when it hit me- the story about the bird and the pink alligator that became friends. The author sadly never saw the day that it became published due to an illness, but his mother supposedly received the original notebook and wrote it; later self-publishing it on the author's twenty-first birthday. The story ended on a happy note, but was originally supposed to be sad one… At least, that's what my Senpai told me. It was his favorite book- so easy to read for someone like him and yet still so passionate of words.

"Oh, I think he means the one from the storybook!" I mused, looking at the boy for clarification. He nodded eagerly, telling me that he was a fan of the book as well.

"Oh… F-Fine then… I'll get around to it sometime" Kanji replied, shyly, looking away from the boy.

"Yay! Thank you! Remember, your promised!" the boy cheered, sticking out his hand for a high five. Not wanting to let him down, I high-fived him back, causing him to turn on his heel and run back to the Daycare Center.

Just before he returned to the others, he turned back around waved happily at Kanji and me, calling out: "Bye Mister! Bye Lady!" I waved back at him while Kanji turned around with a huff to hide his embarrassed smile, causing the boy to laugh and return to his friends. After a moment of silence, Kanji and I began walking again.

"...Strange situation I got myself into, ain't it?" Kanji asked, seeming still a little stunned by the whole event.

"I think it's good for you" I replied, earning a confused huff.

"Good…? I don't really know" Kanji sighed, a smile etched onto his face. There was a moment of silence as we walked, Kanji looking deep in thought. Not wanting to disturb him, I just kep my mouth shut.

"...When I was in elementary school," Kanji began, his voice gentle yet low, causing me to blink in surprise at his tone, "I fixed a classmate's bag this one time. Thinking back… I guess I liked her. I only did it to make her happy, but… The next day, all the girls were makin' fun of her."

There was a pause. I had a small feeling as to what happened next, but just to be sure, I asked,"...Did she cry?" Kanji didn't say anything for a moment, his words swallowed by the soft grinding of rubber and dirt. For a minute there, I almost thought that I shouldn't have said anything.

"...Yeah" Kanji suddenly replied, a small smile breaking out. "I didn't understand why, but y'know… I thought I'd done something wrong. So I never thought… I'd be _thanked_ for doing this stuff." I blinked in surprise, noticing that Kanji's face was practically beaming in glee like sunshine. "Haha, it feels good. Hearing 'thank you'... I like it!"

"Did something wrong, huh…?" I hummed, taking in Kanji's words. The was something about them that made my mind spin but also pain my heart… What if, in my past, I never did nothing wrong…? Who's fault would it be then?

"I guess I gotta go to Okina City later" Kanji suddenly thought aloud, cutting off my train of thought.

"Hm?" I replied, turning my attention to him. Kanji blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head.

"Um… For the f-fabric… I ran out of my usual stuff, so..." Kanji began, sounding shy.

"Oh!" I gasped, remembering the products I bought at Okina City. I stopped in my tracks and began to untie the plastic bag that hung from the left handle. My movement was a bit awkward, but I quickly managed to remove the bag.

"Here you go" I offered as I handed Kanji the bag, causing him to blink in surprise.

"Huh? What's this?" Kanji asked, hesitantly taking the bag from me.

"I actually drove over to Okina earlier and saw some fabric on sale. I got them for you Kanji-kun" I explained.

"Y-You got this for… Me?" Kanji stuttered, blushing a little. I nodded in reply, causing him to shyly looked inside the bag, rummaging through its continents.

"Whoa, this is some good stuff…! Good eye you got there, Senpai!" he exclaimed, his body immediately tensing up. I blinked in surprise, a little startled by his harmless comment. "Er, well, I-I mean… Um..."

I shook my head in reassurance, and said "It's fine. I still have _one_ working eye, you know."

Kanji blinked in surprise at my reply, before smiling sheepishly and chuckling, "...Heh. You are one cool chick, y'know that?"

I felt the corner of my lips twitch as our friendship got stronger, the two of us chatting about random little things until we returned to Inaba. Since I originally planned to stop by Marukyu, Kanji decided to tag along; the two of us surprising Ryo with our visit. After I bought my tofu, the three of us talked during Ryo's break and I was later escorted home by Kanji like he said he would.

* * *

Tuesday, August 2nd | _Morning_ …

It was a rather humid morning as I calmly combed my short hair, thinking of what to do today, when my iPhone suddenly rang. I blinked in surprise, wondering who could be calling me at this hour. I put my comb down and picked up my phone, seeing that it was Kou.

With a push of the talk button, I put the iPhone to my ear and said, "Good morning, Kou-chan." " _Waaahhhh! Hitomi-chaaaaaaan!_ " Kou cried loudly, causing me to blink several times in surprise and nearly drop my iPhone.

"W-What is it, Kou-chan?" I asked nervously, readjusting my grip.

" _Chou's being a big dummy head! She won't let me hang out with anyone until I start doing my summer homework, and it's suuuuuch a chore! Can I head over to your place for some help?_ " Kou asked, sounding clearly despite. During her little speech, I could hear Chou in the background protesting against the things Kou said. Thinking that it was much cooler inside the room than outside, I nodded to myself.

"Sure. I was planning on working on it for a little today, anyways" I replied, earning a distant sigh from Chou.

" _Sweet! I'll be there in ten minutes!_ " Kou giggled, shortly ending the call. Sighing in slight dismay, I decided to spend some time cleaning up to impress the sporty duo.

Ten minutes later, just like Kou said, the two girls arrived with their backpacks; Kou looking rather chipper about the whole situation while Chou looked a little more on the frustrated side. It was… rather amusing in a way, since it was Kou was the one who was whining and complaining over the phone. Despite my small uneasy feeling, I lead the two girls into my room, to which Kou easily made herself comfortable in.

"Your room's… kinda weird..." Kou hummed as she glanced about, sitting on my office chair in front of my study desk while Chou and I sat on the blue couch. I felt a nervous drop of sweat begin to roll down my jaw, worried that they were going to start judging me over my Aiko Fujioka figurine…

"Not too spacious, and yet not too cramped...Not too dark, either… And what's more, it's _seriously_ lacking in color" Kou continued, making a disapproving face at the bland wall color. I couldn't help but secretly sigh in relief, glad that she didn't make fun of my figurine...

"Hey, don't bitch about other people's rooms" Chou scolded, probably noticing the droplets of sweat on my face despite the well chilled room.

"Wh-What? I wasn't bitching…!" Kou argued, pouting a little in protest. "And hey, you weren't invited to come here! You should go away, jerk!"

"Nope- not until I see that homework done" Chou said simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hmph! So bossy… It's not like you got any of the stuff right on your homework! You and your 'Algebra'" Kou teased, shortly sticking out her tongue. Chou immediately stood up with a flustered expression, hands tightened like balls.

"Shut up, at least I finished it!" Chou argued, causing Kou to 'hmph!' and look away. Chou growled in annoyance at Kou's attitude, slowly descending back to the chair. As an attempt to comfort her, I patted her back, earning nothing in response.

"...Anyway, looks like you're a little short on stuff to read. Why don't you take this?" Kou suddenly began, rummaging through her backpack. Noticing that she was talking to me, I stood up and walked over to Kou just as she pulled out a green book. "Tadaaa! 'The _O-Cha_ Way'... Want it? I'm sure _you'll_ understand it. It's written to teach tea ceremony to foreigners… It was too complex for Chou, but that's not saying much."

"Hey!" Chou exclaimed, sounding a little offended. A bit curious to read its contents, I nodded a thank you to Kou and took the book gently from her hands.

"She gave it back to me, like, a _day_ after she borrowed it… Now I can finally stop lugging that stupid thing around" Kou giggled happily, seemingly happy that I showed interest in her book.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Wondering who it was, I walked over and opened the door- revealing shy, little Mimi.

"Do we have guests, Big Sis?" Mimi asked shyly, poking her head past me to see the others inside.

"Hi Mimi, come on in" I encouraged, welcoming her to the room. Mimi nodded obediently, seeming to relax at the smile Chou was showing her.

"Mimi?" Kou repeated, catching my attention. Kou glanced over at Mimi and then back at me, her expression of confusion causing my head to suddenly throb. Feeling a little unsteady, I closed the door behind me and leaned on it a little, taking a few deep breaths.

"Oh, I get it! That's cute~" Kou laughed, seeming to understand something. Looking back over at her, the smile on her face suddenly caused my headache to vanish- as if nothing had happened in the first place.

"Hey, don't you get lonely when you big sister doesn't play with you?" Chou suddenly asked, causing my blood to run cold.

There was a short pause of silence as Mimi stared at Chou, the only sound being heard was my heart racing in my ears.

Mimi, putting on her cutest of all smiles, shook her head and replied: "No, I'm fine!" Placing a hand on my heart to ease the pounding.

"Alright, then let's do your homework. Kou would LOVE to help you" Chou smirked, looking over at Kou.

"Huh?! I _would_!?" Kou replied, causing Mimi and Chou to laugh. Feeling a warm sensation washing over me at the sound of their laughter, I allowed my body to relax and return to my seat on the couch.

With Mimi's young age, we decided to let her enjoy herself outside with friends, as she would be no help to any of the materials we were learning. The rest of the day was a rather boring, but entertaining day, as my friendship with the sporty duo became stronger than ever.

* * *

Wednesday, August 3rd | _Evening_...

I sat on the couch downstairs in the living room, wearing nothing more than a tank top and shorts while the electrical fan blew air at me, while watching the news.

After I had gotten out of the shower early this morning, washing off the sweat on my body from the hot night, my head injury suddenly worsened and began to bleed. The pain was subtle yet rigorous and while the bleeding did stop, I didn't feel all that well to do anything. I had been keeping a good job hiding my injury from Nanako, Mimi, and Dojima; so to keep things the way they were, I lied to the girls by saying that I was going to work on my homework all day today. In truth, my body didn't want to do anything and I ended up just resting in bed the whole day.

Ryo, as if his medical instincts were tingling, decided to call me sometime in the afternoon during his lunch break to check up on me. I, for the second time today, lied to him and said that I was doing all right. There was a slight hint in his voice that seemed a little unconvinced to me, but if he actually was unconvinced, he sure didn't show it as he instructed me to stay in cool buildings or underneath the shade for the heat could be bad for me. Reassuring him that I was going to take his advice, I ended the call to avoid having to lie for the third time.

I found it strange that Ryo decided to call instead of text today of all days- when I actually was in slight pain. But… I didn't exactly found the whole call frustrating. It was actually calming for me, listening to the sound of Ryo's voice…

Earlier, maybe about an hour or so ago, was when my head started to ease up; allowing me the freedom to move about. With the opportunity, I decided to go downstairs and cook dinner for the girls and me, the three of us enjoying a nice meal of fish and miso soup. Now, with food in my system, and refreshing (yet warm) air blowing on me, it feels like a good end to a rather painful day.

"Big Sis?" a familiar voice called out to me. Looking over my shoulder to the kitchen, Mimi stood smiling with her hands tied behind her back.

"What is it, Mimi?" I asked gently, her smile sending a warm sensation over me.

"Um… Can we work on the garden?" Mimi asked, her slightly uncomfortable voice not matching her smile. I blinked at the request.

"Hm? But we just planted some veggies yesterday" I pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but part of my summer homework is to observe plants" Mimi explained, averting her eyes shyly. She seemed a little bothered to be asking me.

"Ah, I see. Alright then, let's go and add some fertilizer" I hummed as I carefully stood up, making my way to the gardening bucket which was behind the couch.

"Yay!" Mimi cheered, jumping up and down a few times before grabbing a cute pink notebook off the kitchen table. Once the two of us were all set, we exited the Dojima residence and marched to the garden. It looked rather empty due to the brown color of the soil, unaccompanied by any green due to the new seeds we planted. As usual, I was in charge of all the hard work- in this case, adding the fertilizer- while Mimi simply wrote in her notebook and watered the soil.

"I've been watching the veggies grow every day, so I can write that down" Mimi hummed to herself as I smoothed out the new soil. "Oh, I'll also write that I took care of them with my Daddy and Big Sis! A-And how a green caterpillar surprised Dad that one time!"

"That sounds like a good idea! Make sure to draw a picture of it" I suggested, images of father entering my mind.

"I will! I'm a pretty good drawer!" Mimi giggled, sounding a little boastful of herself.

"You sure are, Mimi" I hummed in reply while nodding. There was a moment of silence as I continued to work, my hands slowing down every now and again due to feeling lightheaded. Despite the sun no longer in the sky, the air was still warm. Perhaps "dangerously warm" for me and my condition.

"...Um, Big Sis?" Mimi suddenly began, her voice seeming to double with another.

"Who's Mimi?"

My hands stopped moving, the "dangerously warm" air going cold. My eyes were going blank, fixated on two little rocks shaped-hands in front of me. What sort of question is that? Haven't I been _talking_ , _interacting_ with Mimi this whole time? Sure, I was still at the Dojima residence and… I used to do these things, like gardening, with Nanako; but… But Nanako's with a friend or something. So the little girl that I'm with right now has to be… It _has_ to be Mimi! I know it is!

"...What are you talking about? _You're_ Mimi" I began, my body beginning to tremble as the night grew… colder. The spongy earth that I was just scrambling grew an extra inch and turned white, as if snow had suddenly foamed on top of it. My breathing was starting to go shallow.

This has to be Mimi… It has to be!

...That's what I've been telling myself. But, underneath all that confidence, I was starting to feel scared. The winter breeze, the sound of cars and ambulance sirences… The smell of _blood_. I was too afraid to turn around and put this madness to an end.

"You… _are_ Mimi, right...?" I asked, a hitched breath escaping me; making it almost sound as if I was laughing ever so weakly. There was a moment of silence- a silence that shouldn't be here right now. Since I was _talking_ with Mimi, she should have responded like she always does: "Of course I am, silly! Have you been drinking Daddy's special tea?"

...But the silence only grew longer. As if it was answering for her.

Closing my eyes, I slowly began to turn around where Mimi was supposed to be sitting, my heartbeat thumping loudly in my ears.

When I opened them, I didn't see my precious little Mimi sitting there besides me in her cute little summer outfit. Instead, there sat a little girl who I've grown to love. My niece. Nanako.

She looked scared. Maybe even worried.

My head suddenly began to pulsate, the feeling of thin and thick threads slithering around my brain. The sensation was foreign, instantly causing my body to shiver and grab hold of myself. But the moment my glove-covered fingers touched my arms, it felt as though they were on fire. I flinched at the pain, my vision turning red.

"W-Where's Mimi?!" I cried out, shiver violently. It was happening all over again. The snow. The sirens. The whispers of strangers. A sudden sharp pain thrusted deep into my right eye socket, earning a loud gasp in return.

"B-Big Sis! Are you okay?!" I could hear Nanko call out, her voice distant as it got lost in the falling snow. "L-Let's go back inside, okay?"

Despite my brain, which was crying out for help, I nodded in reply and slowly got to my feet. With Nanako's guidance, I managed to enter the Dojima residence once again and even laid down on the futon in my room. Soon, the world turned cold and dark as my consciousness faded...

* * *

Thursday, August 4th | _Morning_ …

The next morning, my head thankfully stopped aching. I thought that everything had returned to normal.

But it hadn't. I could tell.

It felt as if my brain had no connection with my body. Moments from my past would suddenly play without warning, even though my body moved all on it's own. Nothing made sense to me. At one minute, I think that I'm just a girl again and the next I'm back to reality. The switching of realities soon got tormenting, my face that used to be so blank in expressions now only has a new default- exhaustion.

I was sitting limply in front of my mirror, staring at the dull horror that was now my exhausted face, when my iPhone suddenly rang. Without even looking, I picked it up from besides me and pressed the answer button, waiting for the person on the other end to answer… Or at least bring me back to reality.

" _Yo, partner!_ " a familiar voice chirped. In the state of my exhaustion, I couldn't even recognize it.

"...Huh?" was all that I could reply with.

" _It's me! Your number one partner in kicking serious ass of the mysterious murders?_ " the voice laughed, causing my headache to still for a moment. There was something about it that seemed… Relaxing. " _I just wanted to see if you were available for lunch later. I'm bored outta my mind, dealing with my old man and Berry._ " I blinked a few times lazily as I continued to stare at the mirror, emotions such as surprise and slight shock entering my body as I took in what the voice had asked me. Suddenly, my exhausted expression vanished and my blank one returned, a soft gasp escaping me. It was Yosuke...!

"...Yosuke-kun! Uh, sure, I'm free!" I replied, my cheeks heating up and turning red for some reason. I heard Yosuke laugh on the other end, brushing off my _clearly_ strange behavior.

" _Awesome! Meet up with me later then, at the food court_ " Yosuke chirped, sounding eager to talk with me. I nodded in reply, shortly ending the call. Without a moment of hesitation, my body began to move all on its own, the thought of spending time with Yosuke and probably Berry filling me with energy. My friends… They're always one factor in my life that I can count on to return me to reality.

* * *

 _Afternoon_ …

"So whatcha gonna eat today?" Yosuke, who was sweating in the summer heat, asked me with a bright smile.

I had just arrived five minutes ago, and already this boy's spirit is as strong as the sunrays. Despite his clearly wet clothes from all his hard work and the fact that he hasn't been seeing the others that much, he seems so happy. Well, maybe it's because today he finally got a break. I want to tell him to take care of himself and to wash his clothes every night with this heat, but I don't want to seem like I'm taking care of him.

After some thought on what I wanted to eat, I hummed in reply, "Um… Steak?"

"Pft! You're starting to sound like Nise with all that steak talk" Yosuke teased, chuckling.

"Well, this town doesn't really serve a lot, does it…?" I replied, the corner of my lips twitching.

"Heh, that's true" Yosuke began, before noticing something. "Oh, but I think we have some shaved ice in now. Only two flavors, though..." My body flinched at the word shaved ice, a memory of Mimi and I happily eating cherry flavored.

"Is there cherry?" I asked, stopping in my tracks. Yosuke, having noticed that I stopped walking, stopped as well so that we were side by side.

"Yeah, there should be. Unless that stupid bear ate it all" Yosuke sighed, showing clear signs of frustration with Berry.

"Hm… Mimi loves cherry. Maybe I should buy an extra one for her? Oh, but it would melt, wouldn't it?" I hummed, thinking aloud to no one really but myself.

"Mimi? Who's that?" Yosuke asked, blinking at the name.

Just like last night, I froze.

My blood turned cold. My head, throbbing. Images of blood flashing in my mind.

"...What?" I began, the words softly coming out of my lips. "Mimi… is..."

Suddenly, a winter breeze blew over me, my surrounding turning white with snow. Startled by the sudden change of scenery, I took a step forward to try and return to reality, only to trip on myself.

"W-Whoa!" Yosuke exclaimed, catching me in his arms. At the touch of our skin rubbing against each other, my body ached in pain, causing my eyes to well up.

"Where's Mimi?! Is she okay?!" I cried out, my eyes closing shut at the increased intensity of pain inside my head.

"H-Huh? What are you talking about?" Yosuke asked, clearly confused. "Hey, are you okay? Is the heat getting to ya?"

Just like last night, my head suddenly began to pulsate, the feeling of thin and thick threads slithering around my brain. My hands desperately tried to grab hold of something- _anything_ \- in hope of reassurance. My vision was too blurry for me to see anything real, blurred faces of people I knew closing in on me. I could hear Yosuke calling out for me, concern sharp in his voice, but he sounded so far away… The pity whispering of strangers, the loving laughter from my family, ambulance sirens were all that I could hear. I desperately tried to shake them away, run away from the voices, but my body was too weak- my brain like putty in their devilish ways.

"My… head… is killing me!" I managed to choke out, hoping that Yosuke would take the hint and help me. Save me. But all I could hear was him calling out my name, his voice growing more and more distant as my body started to get frostbite. It was getting harder to breathe. And soon, before I knew it-

I was sinking in the red abyss.

* * *

3rd POV

The weather was hotter than ever in the big city, the heat from strangers only causing the strong sun rays to grow in power. A young, silver haired girl sat on a random bench on a random sidewalk, watching the sea of people with missing faces walk to their destination; paying no mind to one another. Some people were paired, some had small children. But, despite it all, they had no faces. That was all the silver haired girl could tell and care about. As long as they weren't staring, whispering at her, she didn't care. She was tired of all the whispering, of the soft words from strangers taking her side in the accident so many years ago. What bothered her the most was the fact that the spot next to her on the bench was empty. Someone very important was supposed to be right there next to her. And yet, they weren't...

 _"Hey there. What are you doing here?"_ a voice asked, catching the girl's attention. Looking to her right, she saw a little boy about the age of twelve. His hair was as bright and natural as the sun, making his fair skin and captivating green eyes relax her. But it was hard for the girl to see the boy. Her eyes, usually so cooperative with each other after the right one was lost, was playing tricks on her today. She could only see half of the boy.

 _"Senpai..."_ the silver haired girl mumbled, a series of emotions mixing up inside of her. She was happy to see the boy again, frustrated that her eyes wouldn't let her see all of him, and angry that only _now_ was the boy with her again. _"I should be asking you the same thing. Do you know how long it has been since I last saw you?"_ The boy merely smiled, tilting his head to the side with a shrug, despite the pain in the girl's heart.

 _"I know, I know… But there was nothing I could do"_ the boy merely replied, causing the silver haired girl to flinch. She looked away from him, hiding the tears that began to well up. _"For now, don't you think it's time?"_ The girl blinked in surprise, glancing back at the boy.

 _"Time for what?"_ she asked. The boy smiled and took a seat next to her, placing a hand over hers- the feeling of their skins faint but the comforting warmth as strong as ever.

 _"It's time for you to wake up… And let it go."_

Hitomi's POV

Slowly, I felt my eyes flutter open, my vision blurring for a moment as a soft voice choked out, instantly knowing it to be my own: "...Huh?"

As my vision began to clear, the first thing I saw was the welcoming face of Ryo- a gentle smile on his face.

"Hey…! Welcome back to the land of the living" Ryo joked, brushing my the left side of my face with what felt to be a towel. My face couldn't help but heat up in surprise, Ryo's gentle touch surprisingly comforting.

Noticing that I was lying down on something hard, I slowly made the effort to sit up. Ryo instantly grab hold of my hand while he gently lifted me up from my back. As I began to rise, like a zombie from the dead or Frankenstein, a small clear plastic bag suddenly fell on my lap from my forehead. My body shivered the moment it touched my legs, cold water filled inside it. Ryo, noticing the reaction I had, quickly removed the bag, just as I properly sat up. Using a small hand towel, assumingly the same one he used on my face, and gently wiped the water off my forehead.

"Hey, you're awake!" a voice exclaimed. Looking up, I saw Yosuke walking towards me with another hand towel in his hand, a look of relief over his face.

"Yosuke-kun…? What am I… doing here?" I asked, looking around the room. I seemed to be in some sort of… locker or shower room meant for employees, the "something hard" that I was lying on was the metal bench laid in the middle between rows of lockers. To my surprise, Yosuke's work apron was folded up neatly like a pillow, to which my head was resting on earlier.

"You started making a fuss outside when we were deciding what to eat" Yosuke explained as he kneeled down next to me, sweat rolling down his face.

"Oh, really? Sorry about that..." I murmured, feeling embarrassed. Thinking back on it, I didn't really remember much about what happened… Or what's been happening for the past few days, after the whole mess with Nise at his party.

"Don't worry about it. How do you feel?" Yosuke suddenly asked, snapping me out of my thoughts as I noticed that his expression is heavy with worry.

"A little… groggy" I replied, rubbing my eyes. I'm so tired… Like I haven't been sleeping at all. Ryo stood up, leaving my side and pulled out his iPhone, rapidly pushing buttons.

"Hmm… It sounds as if you almost have something like a mild TBI" Ryo hummed without looking away from his screen.

"TBI?" Yosuke asked, raising a brow.

"Stands for 'Traumatic Brain Injury'... It must have been from our last battle" Ryo theorized, looking back at me with a serious and concerned look. Suddenly, Ryo's iPhone began to beep like crazy, getting multiple notifications.

"For real…?" Yosuke asked, almost sounding heartbroken. The sound of his voice caused me to flinch, a wave of unknown guilt washing over me.

"Sorry..." I couldn't help but mutter.

"There's no need to apologize. We're just glad that you're alright now" Ryo said quickly, rushing back to my side and placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, cheeks heating up, as he flashed me one of his cute smiles. "Be sure to take it easy for a while, okay, Senpai?"

Unable to deny him, I nodded and muttered in reply, "I'll try..." Ryo smiled sweetly, happy to hear my answer as his iPhone continued to go off. With a soft sigh, Ryo handed his device to Yosuke, who started pushing buttons rapidly while keeping an eye on me.

"Here- these are some pain relievers. Over the counter" Ryo began as he pulled out a small white medication bottle. "In theory, if this really is a mild TBI, your head has already started to heal up; based on the headaches and memory confusion the others have reported. Try to stay out of the heat and relax as you take these, okay? If you decide to go out, make sure to bring a fan or maybe wear a loose fitting hat to protect you."

"Okay… Thank you so much, Ryo-kun" I thanked, nodding a little to show my gratitude. He must have realized that I wasn't really doing well when he called me the day I was too ill to do anything. The thought of him going through all the trouble made my heart skip a beat...

"Anything for my Senpai~" Ryo cooed, smiling in a rather seductive manner, causing my face to flare up. Yosuke suddenly cleared his throat, catching our attention. With a glare, he handed Ryo back his iPhone before turning to me.

"...Hey, why don't we eat together another time, when you're all better?" Yosuke suggested, smiling a little. "For now, I'll buy you some cherry flavored shaved ice and walk you home so you can rest. 'Kay?"

"Okay. Sorry about all this, Yosuke-kun..." I replied, a little disappointed and frustrated that I ruined my time with Yosuke… He was looking forward to hanging out with me too. And so was I...

"Nah, it's fine. Just get better alright? Take it easy" Yosuke reassured, offering me his hand. My heartbeat suddenly got faster and the gesture, my entire face heating up. Nodding in gratitude, I took Yosuke's hand, and with a powerful yet gently pull; he got me up on my feet. Ryo placed a hand on my shoulders in case I were to fall, causing Yosuke to let go of my hand as the three of us walked out of the room. My heart couldn't stop pounding, much more comforting that before. What was it…? What was causing it?

* * *

Friday, August 5th | _Afternoon_...

After the whole shenanigans with my little break down at Junes, it seems as if my friends have been paying a lot more attention to me. For the past sum hours, I've been getting text messages from everyone I've ever known in Inaba asking questions about my health. Apparently, when I passed out, Ryo informed the Investigation Team my situation; which was why his iPhone suddenly went off like that after messing on it- he gave the others an update on me. The others were all so worried that they started telling people who I knew and sometimes hung out with so that if they were to see me, they could keep an eye on me. I really appreciated the gesture, but the amount of attention they were all giving me was a bit overwhelming.

However, out of everyone that I knew here… I couldn't tell the Dojima's. Dojima was working too hard with Mitsuo on his shoulders, and Nanako has been worrying about me ever since I freaked out the other day in the garden. There was no way that I could tell them my mental state might as well be dancing with sharks. I decided to keep it secret. Unlike my prescription medication from the hospital for my PTSD, I kept the pain relievers in my room so that they wouldn't find them. And when Nanako asked about what happened yesterday, I simply told her that I got a heat stroke and had to rest for the day. I also told her that what happened in the garden was also from a heat stroke, causing her to relax a little.

Yes… I lied. But I'll make sure to set the record straight. When the time comes.

After taking the pain relievers this morning, I already started to feel better. I was glad that the medication was working, and started building confidence in myself. So, today- I decided to walk around for a bit before making lunch for Mimi and I. I made sure to bring a hand fan with me, like Ryo said, as well as a bottle of iced water.

I decided to walk around the Central Shopping District, since it was all that far from the Dojima residence and I knew that there would be plenty of people around to spot me if I suddenly fell to the ground. While walking, entering the north side, I noticed a man in a white short-sleeved shirt wearing jeans; staring at a closed down shop. Stopping in my tracks, I looked up at the shop and noticed that there was a sign on top that read: "Marutake Hobby Shop". The shop seemed old and ragged, as if it could fall at any minute with rust and moss growing here and there between the cracks of the metal door.

Curious as to why he was staring at the shop, I turned to him and asked, "Is something wrong, sir?"

The man said nothing at first, making me think that he didn't hear me. When suddenly, he sighed and replied with, "...Isn't this a great-looking shop?" Thrown off guard by the sudden question, I blinked in surprise and shrugged.

"Well… It looks like it has seen better days" I replied. The man laughed weakly, causing me to look back at him and notice the rather sad expression on his face.

"My grandfather started this shop… And I closed it down" the man began, sounding ashamed.

"Why would you do that?" I asked, fanning myself as I started to feel hot.

"Nowadays, kids don't make models… If they want toys, Junes has a bigger selection… I can't compete" the man sighed, causing me to flinch. I couldn't help but glance away, thinking that it wasn't Junes's fault. To me, it seemed like it was built to save this town… But I suppose, since the generational shops like this one don't cooperate with Junes, it only makes sense that Junes is considered a villain.

"...A long while ago, kids used to come in here and show off the models they'd built, comparing to see who was the best. The store was so lively" the man continued. "I feel sorry for the toys that still remain in the store… I want them to be complete, but it'd be even more pathetic if they had to be constructed by me. The models would be happier if a young kid like you made them." I blinked in surprise at the last remark, a bead of nervous sweat rolling down my jaw. I think I know where this is going….

"…Want me to make one?" I asked, causing the man to blink in surprise and look at me for the first time.

"Huh? W-Would you do that?" he asked, life return to his once dead, sad expression.

"Sure. It sounds like fun" I replied with a nod. I've never really made a model or anything of the sort before… But it sure sounds fun!

"Do you have model paint at your place? You need clippers? Do you use putty!? What about detail pens…?" the man rambled, clearly excited at the thought of a model being created. The man suddenly gasped and turned around, pulling out a large box from a book bag and handed it to me. "Here, you can have this! Please show it to me when you're done!"

Hesitantly, I took the box, a little overwhelmed at the man's excitement. But the feeling soon washed away as I too started to become excited to building my very own model. The man decided that he was going to start showing up at the very same spot everyday at around noon so that I could always find him the moment I was finished. Excited, I quickly returned to the Dojima residence and locked myself in my room, reading the instructions and putting the pieces of the model together.

* * *

Saturday, August 6th | _Early morning_...

With a sigh of both relief and exhaustion… I stared at the now finished model in victory. Having lost track of time, I looked over at the clock.

"It's morning already…?!" I exclaimed, surprised that it was three in the morning. I ended up working on this model all night… It was a lot more complicated that I would have thought. Looking back at the model, I couldn't help but sigh in exhaustion. Well, at least now it's complete. Stretching out my stiff body, I quietly got dressed in my pajamas, brushed my teeth and decided to go sleep. After all, I couldn't return the finished model _now_ … That man wouldn't even be there.

* * *

 _Afternoon..._

After I was well-rested, ate a much larger than usual meal with Mimi, I geared up and walked out of the house to meet up with the man from yesterday. I brought along the model (of course), a umbrella, and a cold water bottle. Unlike the days prior, today seemed like it was going to rain later on. Thankfully for me, that mean that the sun wasn't out to hurt me and that the heat went down a couple of degrees.

When I approached the Hobby Shop, just like the man said, he was there waiting for me. Noticing me, the man smiled widely, looking as if he wasn't really expecting anything from me today.

When I showed him the finished model, the man couldn't help but exclaim, "That's the MF-06S Brahman I gave you! You actually built it…! Wow, it's good… Well-made..." I nodded quietly in thanks, glad that all my hard work was being appreciated.

Suddenly, the man started tearing up, choking out, "I'm surprised that you managed to get it done so quickly. Usually, making plastic models take a lot of time, and that time you spend makes the love of your creation deeper… Haha, I must be getting old…!"

"Why do you say that?" I asked, finding the man to still be relatively young. Of course, he was older than me, but I wouldn't say that he's exactly old...

"I was recalling the days I spent toiling away at plastic models..." the man began, wiping away the tears in his eyes with the back of his right hand. "It was fun… But it's all in the past now..." The man sniffled, clearly emotional over everything that had happened in his life. A bit embarrassed, the man turned around as he wiped the tears to hide them from me. I couldn't help but feel a wave of something warm wash over me, my heart more light than it has ever been before. I'm really glad that I decided to help him...

Once the man recovered, he turned back around with a big smile on his face and said, "Thank you. By giving me a final glimpse of this joy, you made me realize that this phase of my life has passed."

"Happy to help" I replied, tilting my head a little to the side. The man bowed a bit in gratitude, before turning around and walking away, the model I worked so hard on tightly in his hands. I didn't mind that the man was taking the model away… I like to think that I'm giving a bit of his childhood back. Proud of how everything turned out, I too turned around and head back to the Dojima residence before it started to rain.

* * *

 _Evening…_

After I had returned from my little trip with the model-lover man, I decided to spend the rest of the day reading the book Kou had given me, the "O-Cha Way". To my surprise, it was rather engaging and made me want to actually go and make tea for my friends. But the more I thought that way, the more embarrassed I got. The last thing I need is for all my friends to watch me as I sit in a traditional kimono, making tea for them.

"I'm ho…" a voice called out, only to be interrupted by a sneeze. Recognizing the childish voice, I folded a corner of the page I was on and quickly headed downstairs. The first thing I saw when I reached the entrance was a very wet Nanako, who looked a bit nervous and/or worried. Blinking in surprise at her appearance, I quickly walked off to the bathroom to grab a towel. Once I had it, I returned to Nanako and began drying her head. As I dried her, it was now that I noticed she wasn't holding onto her new Love-line umbrella.

"Mimi, why didn't you take your Love-Line umbrella? You knew that it was going to rain today" I pointed out, wiping away the rain from her forehead.

"Because I lost it…" Nanako replied reluctantly.

I stopped dying her for a moment, blinking in surprise, and asked, "You lost it already?"

"I'm sorry, Big Sis..." Nanako replied, looking down at her small feet. I hummed in thought for a moment, draping the towel around Mimi's shoulders.

"...It's alright" I reassured, patting Mimi's head gently. "Why don't you take a bath while I start making dinner?" Mimi looked up at me and smiled, shortly kicking off her shoes and running to her bedroom for some clothes.

After putting Mimi's shoes next to each other in a neat fashion, I soon started to cook my somen specialty. As I prepared the dish, my mind started to wander… Mimi lost her umbrella, huh…? She was so excited when she got it too. I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. I should go out and but her a new one tomorrow…

Buy my precious little Mimi a new umbrella.


	21. Preview of Next Chapter Update

A/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm so sorry for keeping you all waiting! ;A ; I have been really drained lately. So much so that I was thinking about putting this story on hold…! But, when I was suddenly suggested to do the Phantom Awards over on Wattpad, I decided to get a-working once again! The chapter is still in the works, but I wanted to let you all know that I'm still working on it! So here's a short preview! Enjoy!

* * *

Sunday, August 7th | _Early Noon…_

"Huh? You're sold out?" I repeated, blinking in surprise as I felt a bead of sweat roll down my jaw. Standing in front of the large, rather lizard-like owner of Shiroku, I felt a wave of uneasiness and unfathomable heat ghostly caressing my exposed arms. After deciding to buy Mimi a new Love-Line umbrella, I spent the entire evening rummaging through my belongs for every yen I could find. Thanks to the expensive medication for my recent wounds, the money in my wallet has practically vanished overnight. With luck and determination, however, I managed to find 1,689.46 yen. It amazes me that I was able to find a majority of the money in the pockets of my clothes.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, somebody bought the last one yesterday. I'm not expecting another load until October" the shopkeeper explained, her round face flapping with sincere apology. I glanced to the empty Love-Line umbrella box, the tingling sensation of anxiety teasing me.

"O-October…? Well, isn't there anything I can do?" I asked, returning my gaze to the owner.

"Nope. Sorry" she replied bluntly with a shake of her head. Rather taken back by her blunt reply, I opened my mouth to try and reach an understanding, only to purse my lips together. The owner, despite her kind and peaceful personality, with her black hair tied in red polka dot scarf, I felt rather intimidated by her brown eyes that hid behind her small circular glasses. Perhaps it was the fact that she wore a red kimono with a blue apron and light yellow socks with wooden sandals, a rather traditional Japanese outfit, that I felt so intimidated by her.

Not wanting to cause any trouble, I calmly exited the store, the summer heat quickly splashing me with humidity. I hadn't realized it, but the store was surprisingly cooler than the outdoors. I let out a sigh of exhaustion and strapped on my helmet. It was thanks to this very same heat that I had decided to take my scooter out and drive here instead of walking, so that the light sweat covering my body would fight with the rather chilled breeze.

Since Shiroku is sold out of the umbrella's, I need to go to Coco's Fur in Okina City. Hopefully the young cashier there would be more open to a negotiation… After awkwardly prompting my scooter up, I got on and carefully drove my way out of Inaba.

* * *

"Excuse me..." I called out softly, the door of Coco's Fur closing quietly behind me.

Due to the summer break quickly ending, there was a lot of traffic on the highway on my way here. I couldn't help but feel nervous with the numerous cars around me. To step inside the store with a powerful air conditioner, I couldn't help but let out a loud sigh of relief. Although, I wasn't sure how to feel with the overwhelming pink walls...

"Hello, welcome~" a young voice chimed, catching my attention. The young cashier from the last time I visited was here once again, her fashionable summer clothes flashing as bright as her smile at me. Walking up to her, she quickly recognized me and flashed an even wider smile. I couldn't help but feel a bit shy, slightly startled by the almost inhuman smile.

"Hi, I'm looking for a Love-Line umbrella…? I heard that you had them" I explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry! We're sold out… Those things were pretty much sold out the day I put them on the shelf. Word spreads like wildfire up here with the kids!" the cashier chuckled. I tilted my head to the side, sighing in disappointment.

"You too, huh? Isn't there anything I can do…?" I asked. If I were to return to the Dojima residence tonight knowing that I didn't even try to get a new umbrella, I wouldn't be able to even look at Mimi's in the eyes… The cashier hummed for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hm… Well, I can probably get an early shipment for you! Although, it'll take a while and will come with a heavy price" the cashier warned in a whimsical tone. My head jerked back to its original position, leaning forward in eagerness.

"I-I'll take it! How much is it?" I asked, slightly nervous. The cashier giggled nervously as she pulled out a calculator and pulled up a few things on her computer. The sound of buttons being pushed filled the room, my pounding heartbeat silently accompanying it's melody.

"Well... For an early ship on such a popular item, it'll be about 70,000 yen" the cashier hummed, showing me the numbers on the calculators.

"Eh…?!" I couldn't help but exclaim. The money I had on me at the moment was nowhere near that large number. Heck, I even wasted 4,000 yen for gas on the ride over here. Anxiety filling me, I pursed my lips together as sweat began to drip from my jaw. There was no way that I could pay for 70,00 right now… Maybe, if I'm extremely lucky, I'll have the option to pay for the total price once the package arrives. I can't give up here… I have to get that umbrella for her…!

Gulping, I nervously exclaimed, "I-I'll take it...!"

"Great! Will you pay now or later when the package arrives?" the cashier asked, smiling brightly.

"L-Later, please..." I replied, shortly letting out a sigh of relief as sweat continued to roll down my face. Do most of her customers bring that much money for clothes…?

"Okay! It'll arrive on August 23rd, Monday. I'll only keep your order for about a week, but then after that, I'll be selling the umbrella to others" the cashier explained with a calming smile.

"I understand!" I replied, bowing shortly. The cashier giggled and waved goodbye as I turned around and left. Once the humid summer heat hit me once again after closing the door behind me, I let out a long sigh. I was able to get the umbrella, somehow, but how on earth am I going to save up 70,000 yen in 19 days? Running my hand through my hair, I let out another sigh as my tired feet made it's way to the parking lot where my scooter sat. There is only one thing for me to do in this situation...

"...I need a job" I muttered to myself in defeat.

* * *

Driving on my way to the Dojima residence, I decided to take a new way back to Inaba in an attempt to avoid the traffic. Much to my surprise, I soon realized that the path I had taken was on the same path to Nise's neighborhood. I slowed down the closer I reached Nise's home, memories of the birthday party shortly flashing in and out of my mind.

Approaching the side of his house, I noticed a blue and white scooter sitting beside his parent's car. I couldn't help but blink in surprise as I continued forward, not wanting to be seen, wondering when he got the thing. If that really is his scooter and not a friend's, then I guess that means he's been studying and finally got his license. I recall him talking about that for a while during his birthday dinner… But I wasn't really paying attention. Now that I think about it… Didn't Yukiko also say something about passing something?

"...Hm?" I hummed, noticing a creature sitting on the road. Much to my surprise, I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even realize I had arrived to the central shopping district. As I got closer to it, the creature began to take shape, forming into a rather cute fox with a red handkerchief wrapped around his furry neck. Blinking in surprise, I slowed down, shortly stopping a good two feet away from it. The two of us stared at one another for awhile in silence, as if waiting for the other to speak up.

"...What do you want?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. The fox said nothing in reply, simply walking up to me with a small wooded sign in its mouth. Blinkin in curiosity, I extended my hand to which the fox dropped the wooden sign in.

"Hey… it's an ema" I hummed, examining the sign. The wish written on the sign read "God, please give me friends".

"Why are you giving this to me?" I asked, looking up at the fox. The fox said nothing once again, simply staring at me. I blinked, something clicking inside my head. "...Oh, do you want me to try and make this wish come true?" The fox yipped in reply, as if confirming my thought. Whether it was from the heat or simply the fact that I was talking with a fox, I felt a drop of sweat roll down my jaw.

"Well, alright, but… I don't even know who this is or where to find them" I pointed out. The fox yipped at me in reply, making it's way down the street. Still sitting on my scooter with its engine purring, I couldn't help but stare dumbfounded into space. With a short sigh, I slowly drive after the fox. Out of all the things that would happen to me today, I certainly did not think that I would be talking and following a fox around…

The fox soon stops in front of a bulletin board between Aiya's and Souzai Daigaku. Turning off the engine, I prompted my scooter at the side of the road and read the multiple pieces of paper on the board.

"Oh… Hey, there's some jobs here!" I gasped, surprised. Gee, this would have been nice to know beforehand… I wouldn't have had to spend so many days studying! The fox suddenly yipped at me, standing on its hind legs and pawing a notice for a tutor. Blinking in slight surprise, I scanned through the contents. To my surprise, the job was only for four hours and paid a good amount of 5,000 yen per hour. Pulling out my iPhone, I quickly pushed in the number and waited.

"Hello, Nakajima speaking" a rather intellectual, womanly voice spoke up.

"Um, about your ad regarding a tutor..." I began, looking at the requirements on the paper once more.

"Oh, uh-huh?" the woman hummed, sounding excited and hopeful. I blinked in slight surprise and looked at the fox, covering the microphone.

"Way to go, fox. You are good..." I whispered. The fox yipped at me in reply.

* * *

 _Evening..._

Standing in a traditional, clean boy's room, I found myself standing nervously beside a woman while also in front of her son. The woman whom I had spoken to on the phone earlier was rather desperate for a tutor- and when I mentioned that I was a high school student attending Yasogami, she practically gave me the job right there. It was… Rather startling to all of a sudden be told to head for a stranger's house.

There was a long pause of silence as the three of us stared at one another. Kikyo Nakajima, the woman who was on the phone, and I stared at her son while the young boy stared at me. Well, "stared" was a polite way of saying it. It felt to me as if the boy was inspecting me with his eyes as if trying to determine whether or not I was suited for him. It almost felt like the table had turned: I was the child and he was the menacing teacher, glaring at me to set authority.

"...I'm Shu Nakajima. Nice to meet you" the boy finally introduced, breaking the silence. His voice was nasally and rather high pitched, truly showing his age. Hearing it, I felt my body relax, finally breaking free from his intimidation. It was then that I started to notice his features: straight, short brown hair, relaxed brown eyes hiding behind blue rectangular glasses. He was wearing a blue-collared shirt with folded short sleeves, black pants, and plain white socks.

Nakajima chuckled somewhat awkwardly, swatting her hand gently to catch my attention, and began to ramble: "I'm sorry, he's just a shy boy. But he's so smart, you know? He got the highest score in his class on his last test, and the teacher-"

"Mom!" Shu suddenly whined, interrupting his mother. He bore a face of exhaustion and frustration, showing signs that this wasn't the first time his mother had spoken so fondly about him in front of other people. He didn't necessarily look embarrassed, but based on his tone, I can safely assume that he was. "...E-Enough of that. We're going to study now, so get out."

"Oh, of course, dear. I don't want to bother you while you're learning. But still…" Nakajima began. Not wanting there to be any more tension between Shu and his mother, I turned to her and bowed my head slightly.

"Don't worry, Nakajima-san. I'll do my best to help Shu-kun" I said with utmost care. Looking over at Shu, I slipped in an introduction.

"Hitomi-chan, was it?" Nakajima hummed, sounding a little grateful by my manners. "I hear Yasogami High's scores are starting to climb up there. Shu's already in his second year of middle school, so we need to start thinking of applying to high schools. Well, knowing him, I'm not worried about getting into a good school. But, when it's time for college…" I nodded, understanding where she was coming from. If Mimi does a good job in her classes, it's only natural that I start looking for exceptional middle schools.

"Mom! That's enough, I said...!" Shu suddenly squeaked, the embarrassed tone finally revealing itself.

"Oh, my. I guess you're right. Well, then, Hitomi-chan, please make sure you teach him well" Nakajima instructed with a smile. I nodded in reply. "Study hard, Shu-chan, okay?"

With that, Nakajima left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Officially, the tutoring session had begun. However, Shu seemed to show no interest in learning anything from me. Not that I would blame him… After all, I didn't even bring a single study book with me.

"...Just so you know, I have no interest at all in trying to get into Yasogami High School. You're just the only tutor I can find who could start right now, okay?" Shu growled in a clear voice, returning to his once intimidating nature. "...Do you have a problem?"

I shook my head, muttering,"No, I… Just listening. Don't want to miss anything." Shu sighed, as if disappointed in my response.

"Man… I really hope you're not gonna suck at this. You'll need actual brains, lady, not just looks for this job" Shu remarked, glancing at me once again. I felt a little twitch tickle my face, a little offended by his comment.

"I won't let you or your mother down" I replied firmly, lowering my head slightly to appear somewhat intimidating. I was the adult figure in the room at the moment and I deserve respect from someone several years my junior!

For a moment, there was a look of surprise etched on Shu's face, before he glanced away with a 'hmph'.

"Then, what should we start with? I don't have any subjects that I'm particularly bad at" Shu asked, sounding rather cocky. I twitched once again, but in a different way; a bead of sweat rolling down my face. I didn't have any subjects planned because I didn't even know how old the student I was going to be tutoring was!

"Um… How about English?" I suggested, thinking that the subject would still be rather difficult for this intellectual manchild. And… it was the only one I had confidence in teaching- even without a book.

"...Fine" Shu sighed, sounding somewhat serious for a change.

Despite the small attitude Shu seems to have, he really is a smart kid. He grasps the concepts quickly and answers the problems I have for him in no time at all. Before I could even comprehend it, the two of us became rather comfortable and managed to move onto different subjects.

"...That's enough for today. It's getting late" Shu suddenly announced, putting his pencil down.

"Huh?" Blinking in surprise I pulled out my iPhone to check the time. It was 9:25 pm. "Oh, you're right…!" Feeling rather embarrassed, I brushed my skirt and stood up properly, no longer leaning over Shu's shoulder.

"We'll continue next time" Shu hummed, looking over the amount of paper he filled out during our four-hour session together. I nodded, typing a note to myself on my cellular device.

"You were a good tutor. It was easy for me to understand what you were talking about" Shu admitted, causing me to blink in surprise and look at him. Facing towards me, his face flushed and glanced away. "...I'm sure my natural intelligence had something to do with that as well, of course. You're more than welcome to come again whenever you have the time. I'll keep working at my own pace, as well. So, uh...Please come teach me again."

I blinked in surprise, a little shocked that he was comfortable with me. I was honored, of course, but he seemed to show no sign of growing close with me the moment I stepped into his room. Perhaps… I misunderstood him. Underneath all that talk of being a highly intellectual person, he is just a kid trying to get used to other people. I feel like I understood Shu a little more, creating an almost visible bond…

"Of course. I look forward to working with you in the future" I replied politely, keeping things professional.

"Cool. So… Goodbye" Shu hummed, glancing away sheepishly. I felt the corner of my lips twitch, something tickling in my throat. With that, I exited Shu's room, bid farewell to Nakajima, and made my way to the Dojima residence.

* * *

 _Over at the Dojima's..._

3rd POV

Nanako was eating her dinner with her father, all the while watching her favorite anime, "Love-Line: The Magical Detective!". Despite spending some time with her father, Nanako couldn't help but feel rather… Uneasy, for the lack of a better term. Eating dinner late at night, in silence, while watching television was something that Nanako used to do in the previous years. But this year has been different. There was a new addition to the family; an addition that Nanako was very fond- and worried- of. Her older cousin, Hitomi Narukami, for whatever reason unknown to her, was out rather late tonight. Nanako couldn't help but fidget as she ate, glancing over to the clock in the living room. It was almost 10 pm, and still no sign of Hitomi.

Noticing the discomfort the girl was unconsciously displaying, Dojima tried to think of something to talk about it. After all, he was with his beloved daughter. He then recalled the text message he got from Hitomi the other day, saying that Nanako came home drenched from the sudden summer downpour.

"I, uh, heard you came home drenched yesterday. What happened to your umbrella?" Dojima asked. There was a soft tone of authority in his voice, one that made Nanako tense up. Fidgeting, she poked at her dinner, mustering up the courage. It was so easy for her to admit that she had lost the thing when telling Hitomi. Whether it was because Hitomi was much more understanding than her father or because she was a girl, Nanako did not know.

"Um… I think I lost it" Nanako mumbled, trying to avoid aggravating her father.

"Aw come on, really? We just bought that thing for you" Dojima sighed, sounding upset. Nanako's tension vanished and was replaced with guilt.

"I know, sorry..." Nanako mumbled her appetite suddenly vanishing. The room seemed rather gloomy, like before in the past...

"Hey there, I'm back..." a familiar voice called out, causing Nanako to spring up in glee. Running over to the front entrance, Nanako smiled happily at the sight of Hitomi taking off her shoes with ease.

"Yay, you're home!" Nanako chirped, grabbing Hitomi's attention. Hitomi walked past Nanako, petting her head as she walked by, stopping short at the sight of Dojima.

"Well now, you were out late" Dojima remarked, raising a brow. Hitomi blinked, her expression blank as usual, before humming a tune that almost sounded like realization.

"Yeah… I was" Hitomi mumbled, making her way upstairs to her bedroom. Nanako stared after Hitomi, sadness, and disappointment pinching her heart. She was hoping to talk with her older cousin to ease the tension between her and her father. But it seems that she will have to endure it tonight...

* * *

Monday, August 8th | _Early Evening…_

After a long day of working on summer work and tending the garden, Hitomi found herself excusing herself from eating dinner with Nanako after preparing a meal and heading to Aiya's Chinese dinner. Sure, Hitomi would love to eat dinner at the Dojima residence with her beloved cousin, but time was running short for her to prepare Shu's lesson. Since Nanako didn't want Hitomi to be in her room all day, she kept asking her to do stuff with her. An innocent gesture, but sadly caused some problems with Hitomi. Hitomi could still remember Nanako's disappointed and worried expression as she entered the restaurant. But that memory soon vanished when two familiar people caught Hitomi's undivided attention. The lighting wasn't as powerful as at the front of the restaurant, but Hitomi could tell who's head of dark blue hair it was anywhere.

"Kou-chan, Chou-chan. Didn't think I'd see you two here" Hitomi called out, walking over to their table near the back of the room. Kou looked over at Hitomi and smiled, looking excited to have another familiar face. Chou on the other hand… Looked somewhat different. Although, Hitomi couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

"Hey, it's Hitomi-chan! Wassup, girl?!" Chou greeted loudly, surprising Hitomi a bit. It wasn't like Chou to be so… aggressive when greeting people.

"Nothing much… What's up with you? You're acting all funny" Hitomi pointed out, glancing over at Kou who had a worn out but entertained expression.

"PSH! Me? FUNNY?! No way, girrrrrrrl!" Chou suddenly shouted, her words slurred a little.

"Man, to think that you'd be a fun drunk, Chou" Kou chuckled weakly, sounding almost sarcastic.

"Huh? Chou-chan's drunk?" Hitomi asked in surprise, taking a seat next to Kou.

"No I ainnnn't!" Chou argued, her face finally revealing her red color from the alcohol.

"She totally is" Kou sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Aki said that there was this dish they serve here for a limited time during the summer. He said something that sorta set her off competitively, and now… This happened. It was funny at first, but watching Chou after a while becomes kinda tiring."

"Was there alcohol in the meal?" Hitomi asked, wanting to make sure that her friend didn't just straight up drink alcohol.

"Yep- something that Aki didn't tell us. Thank God that I didn't order it too..." Kou sighed, worried that she'd become one of those "bad drunks".

"I don't know what you two IDIOTS over there are talkin' about, but I AIN'T. DRUNK. It's against my FUGGIN' RELIGION" Chou snapped, slamming her hand down on the table. Despite being right in front of her friends, she somehow couldn't comprehend everything that they were saying.

"Chou, you don't have a religion..." Kou pointed out in a deadpan tone. Chou groaned, as if in disappointment, causing Hitomi to wonder what that dish was.

"Jesus, I can hear you all the way in the bathroom, Chou..." a familiar voice grumbled with a sigh. Hitomi turned around and blinked in surprise, a little stunned to see Aki Ebihara.

"Aki-kun…!" Hitomi gasped, softly. Aki blinked in surprise at the silver-haired girl before flashing a bright smile.

"Hey, long time no see! What are you doing here?" Aki asked happily as he took his seat next to Chou who squirmed like a dancing snake.

"Well, I'm working as a tutor for this boy, but I can't let my relatives know. So after cooking dinner, I excused myself to eat here while I prepare the lesson" Hitomi explained, cutting out the unnecessary bits and pieces.

"Huh? You're working?!" Kou exclaimed, catching Hitomi's attention. "Augh, I'm so jealous! I still haven't finished my homework, so Chou won't let me out of the house! The things I would DO for a job right now!"

"Oh, really now~? Would you do anything…?" Aki cooed seductively, resting his chin in the palm of his right hand. Kou blinked in surprise then blushed a furious red.

"Sh-Shut up, you! When you say it like that, it sounds all gross! Idiot! Pervert!" Kou snapped, grabbing the salt shaker next to her.

"Well, it was your fault for sending mixed signals like that in the first place..." Aki booed, a little hurt that Kou called him all those mean things.

"No, it is not! You're just a pervert!" Kuo snapped again, causing Aki to smile with tinted pink cheeks.

"You're cute when you're angry~" Aki chuckled, causing Kou to gasp.

"Sh-Shut up!" Kou squeaked, shaking the salt shaker in front of her. Aki laughed before looking over at Hitomi who was observing the events as silent and poker face as usual.

"Anyways, how much are you making for this tutoring job of yours, Hitomi?" Aki asked. Hitomi hummed in thought when Akira suddenly walked over to them with a bowl of noodles that had a rather sweet yet tangy smell. Hitomi could feel herself becoming lightheaded as Akira placed the bowl in front of Aki before leaving.

"Um… I think 5,000 a lesson" Hitomi finally replied, shaking off the distracting smell.

"I feel like a 5,000 bill right NOW!" Chou squealed, throwing her head back. Kou and Aki groaned, Aki pushing the bowl towards Chou.

"Okay you, just keep eating so you can stop screaming..." Aki sighed, Chou eagerly taking the chopsticks and began eating.

"Why are you even working in the first place? Did something happen?" Kou asked, the thought suddenly crossing her mind. Kou suddenly gasped, her face paling as she grabbed Hitmi by the shoulders. "Do you need money for meds? I can totally give you some right now if that's the case!"

"N-No, no, that's not it..." Hitomi replied, a little surprised by Kou's offer. Once Kou and Aki- who had already pulled out his wallet to help Hitomi, for he too knew about Hitomi's recent incidents- calmed down, Hitomi explained the situation with Nanako and the Love-Line umbrella.

"I see… So that's all it was..." Kou sighed, relieved.

"Gee, you sure are putting a lot of effort into this kid. Just wait until Shiroku restocks them" Aki suggested with a rather bored look on his face. Aki was an only child and despite the fact that he has a large number of younger cousins and nephews, he wouldn't go through so much just to make them happy. Then again, that was one of the things he rather liked about Hitomi.

"No way. Mimi was so happy when she got that umbrella! To see that smile again on her face..." Hitomi began, her words trailing off as her heart throbbed in sadness, images of a crying child flashing in her mind. "I'll do whatever I can for my little sister."

"Okay, now that's how you properly tell someone that you'll do anything for a reason that does not include sexual activity" Aki pointed out, breaking the once serious mood.

"Shut up, Aki!" Kou snapped. "I personally think that you're an awesome older sister for doing this. But there's no way you can get 69,000 yen with that job alone!" Hitomi sighed, nodding knowingly. Hitomi was so startled by the fox and the demand to start working right away that she didn't even look at the other job offerings.

Kou, noticing the rather gloomy atmosphere surrounding her friend, she smiled and patted Hitomi's back, saying; "There's a Daycare nearby where all the little kids go to play- the pay is pretty good. Let me call them up, see if one of my friends can get you a job, and then I'll call you." Hitomi perked up instantly, her body filled with new found hope.

"Oh, that would be great, Kou-chan! Thank you so much!" Hitomi squeaked cheerfully, despite her usual blank expression. There were times when Aki and Kou couldn't help but wonder if their silver-haired friend was secretly an alien. Or if she secretly wore a face mask all the time. It was amazing to them at how easily Hitomi's voice could reveal her inner emotions and yet not express it...


	22. Hitomi Narukami's Chaotic Summer Pt 1

A/N: Hello, everyone! I'm so sorry for the wait, I have been really drained lately, with college and my voice acting work. I've been working small bits at a time, but it hasn't been that much. I got a major boost in energy though way back when I was suddenly suggested to do the Phantom Awards by one of the judges over on Wattpad. I don't consider this chapter finished by my own standards, but honestly? It would be a really really long chapter if I finished it all the way through. So, might as well cut the chapter in half- for both my sanity and yours. Thank you all for being so patient with me!

OH BTW! I had to do math with this chapter. Yes, that's right. M-A-T-H. UGH. Be grateful, mortals.  
I also received a score of 82.5% from the Phantom Awards! I am very proud of myself for my accomplishment.

* * *

Sunday, August 7th | Early Noon...

"Huh? You're sold out?" I repeated, blinking in surprise as I felt a bead of sweat roll down my jaw. Standing in front of the large, rather lizard like owner of Shiroku, I felt a wave of uneasiness and unfathomable heat ghostly caressing my exposed arms. After deciding to buy Mimi a new Love-Line umbrella, I spent the entire evening rummaging through my belongs for every yen I could find. Thanks to the expensive medication for my recent wounds, the money in my wallet has practically vanished overnight. With luck and determination, however, I managed to find 1,689.46 yen. It amazes me that I was able to find a majority of the money in the pockets of my clothes.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, somebody bought the last one yesterday. I'm not expecting another load until October" the shopkeeper explained, her round face flapping with sincere apology. I glanced to the empty Love-Line umbrella box, the tingling sensation of anxiety teasing me.

"O-October...? Well, isn't there anything I can do?" I asked, returning my gaze to the owner.

"Nope. Sorry" she replied bluntly with a shake of her head. Rather taken back by her blunt reply, I opened my mouth to try and reach an understanding, only to purse my lips together. The owner, despite her kind and peaceful personality, with her black hair tied in red polka dot scarf, I felt rather intimidated by her brown eyes that hid behind her small circular glasses. Perhaps it was the fact that she wore a red kimono with a blue apron and light yellow socks with wooden sandals, a rather traditional Japanese outfit, that I felt so intimidated by her.

Not wanting to cause any trouble, I calmly exited the store, the summer heat quickly splashing me with humidity. I hadn't realized it, but the store was surprisingly cooler than the outdoors. I let out a sigh of exhaustion and strapped on my helmet. It was thanks to this very same heat that I had decided to take my scooter out and drive here instead of walking, so that the light sweat covering my body would fight with the rather chilled breeze.

Since Shiroku is sold out of the umbrella's, I need to go to Coco's Fur in Okina City. Hopefully the young cashier there would be more open to a negotiation... After awkwardly prompting my scooter up, I got on and carefully drove my way out of Inaba.

* * *

"Excuse me..." I called out softly, the door of Coco's Fur closing quietly behind me.

Due to the summer break quickly ending, there was a lot of traffic on the highway on my way here. I couldn't help but feel nervous with the numerous cars around me. To step inside the store with a powerful air conditioner, I couldn't help but let out a loud sigh of relief. Although, I wasn't sure how to feel with the overwhelming pink walls...

"Hello, welcome~" a young voice chimed, catching my attention. The young cashier from the last time I visited was here once again, her fashionable summer clothes flashing as bright as her smile at me. Walking up to her, she quickly recognized me and flashed an even wider smile. I couldn't help but feel a bit shy, slightly startled by the almost inhuman smile.

"Hi, I'm looking for a Love-Line umbrella...? I heard that you had them" I explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry! We're sold out... Those things were pretty much sold out the day I put them on the shelf. Word spreads like wildfire up here with the kids!" the cashier chuckled. I tilted my head to the side, sighing in disappointment.

"You too, huh? Isn't there anything I can do...?" I asked. If I were to return to the Dojima residence tonight knowing that I didn't even try to get a new umbrella, I wouldn't be able to even look at Mimi's in the eyes... The cashier hummed for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hm... Well, I can probably get an early shipment for you! Although, it'll take a while and will come with a heavy price" the cashier warned in a whimsical tone. My head jerked back to its original position, leaning forward in eagerness.

"I-I'll take it! How much is it?" I asked, slightly nervous. The cashier giggled nervously as she pulled out a calculator and pulled up a few things on her computer. The sound of buttons being pushed filled the room, my pounding heartbeat silently accompanying it's melody.

"Well... For an early ship on such a popular item, it'll be about 64,000 yen" the cashier hummed, showing me the numbers on the calculators.

"Eh...?!" I couldn't help but exclaim. The money I had on me at the moment was nowhere near that large number. Heck, I even wasted 4,000 yen for gas on the ride over here. Anxiety filling me, I pursed my lips together as sweat began to drip from my jaw. There was no way that I could pay for 70,00 right now... Maybe, if I'm extremely lucky, I'll have the option to pay for the total price once the package arrives. I can't give up here... I have to get that umbrella for her...!

Gulping, I nervously exclaimed, "I-I'll take it...!"

"Great! Will you pay now or later when the package arrives?" the cashier asked, smiling brightly.

"L-Later, please..." I replied, shortly letting out a sigh of relief as sweat continued to roll down my face. Do most of her customers bring that much money for clothes...?

"Okay! It'll arrive on August 23rd, Tuesday. I'll only keep your order for about a week, but then after that, I'll be selling the umbrella to others" the cashier explained with a calming smile.

"I understand!" I replied, bowing shortly. The cashier giggled and waved goodbye as I turned around and left. Once the humid summer heat hit me once again after closing the door behind me, I let out a long sigh. I was able to get the umbrella, somehow, but how on earth am I going to save up 64,000 yen in 19 days? Running my hand through my hair, I let out another sigh as my tired feet made it's way to the parking lot where my scooter sat. There is only one thing for me to do in this situation...

"...I need a job" I muttered to myself in defeat.

* * *

Driving on my way to the Dojima residence, I decide to take a new way back to Inaba in an attempt to avoid the traffic. Much to my surprise, I soon realized that the path I had taken was on the same path to Nise's neighborhood. I slowed down the closer I reached Nise's home, memories of the birthday party shortly flashing in and out of my mind.

Approaching the side of his house, I noticed a blue and white scooter sitting beside his parent's car. I couldn't help but blink in surprise as I continued forward, not wanting to be seen, wondering when he got the thing. If that really is his scooter and not a friend's, then I guess that means he's been studying and finally got his license. I recall him talking about that for a while during his birthday dinner... But I wasn't really paying attention. Now that I think about it... Didn't Yukiko also say something about passing something?

"...Hm?" I hummed, noticing a creature sitting on the road. Much to my surprise, I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even realize I had arrived to the central shopping district. As I got closer to it, the creature began to take shape, forming into a rather cute fox with a red handkerchief wrapped around his furry neck. Blinking in surprise, I slowed down, shortly stopping a good two feet away from it. The two of us stared at one another for awhile in silence, as if waiting for the other to speak up.

"...What do you want?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. The fox said nothing in reply, simply walking up to me with a small wooded sign in its mouth. Blinkin in curiosity, I extended my hand to which the fox dropped the wooden sign in.

"Hey... it's an ema" I hummed, examining the sign. The wish written on the sign read "God, please give me friends".

"Why are you giving this to me?" I asked, looking up at the fox. The fox said nothing once again, simply staring at me. I blinked, something clicking inside my head. "...Oh, do you want me to try and make this wish come true?" The fox yipped in reply, as if confirming my thought. Whether it was from the heat or simply the fact that I was talking with a fox, I felt a drop of sweat roll down my jaw.

"Well, alright, but... I don't even know who this is or where to find them" I pointed out. The fox yipped at me in reply, making its way down the street. Still sitting on my scooter with its engine purring, I couldn't help but stare dumbfounded into space. With a short sigh, I slowly drive after the fox. Out of all the things that would happen to me today, I certainly did not think that I would be talking and following a fox around...

The fox soon stops in front of a bulletin board between Aiya's and Souzai Daigaku. Turning off the engine, I prompted my scooter at the side of the road and read the multiple pieces of paper on the board.

"Oh... Hey, there's some jobs here!" I gasped, surprised. Gee, this would have been nice to know beforehand... I wouldn't have had to spend so many days studying! The fox suddenly yipped at me, standing on its hind legs and pawing a notice for a tutor. Blinking in slight surprise, I scanned through the contents. To my surprise, the job was only for four hours and paid a good amount of 5,000 yen per hour. Pulling out my iPhone, I quickly pushed in the number and waited.

"Hello, Nakajima speaking" a rather intellectual, womanly voice spoke up.

"Um, about your ad regarding a tutor..." I began, looking at the requirements on the paper once more.

"Oh, uh-huh?" the woman hummed, sounding excited and hopeful. I blinked in slight surprise and looked at the fox, covering the microphone.

"Way to go, fox. You are good..." I whispered. The fox yipped at me in reply.

* * *

Evening...

Standing in a traditional, clean boy's room, I found myself standing nervously besides a woman while also in front of her son. The woman whom I had spoken to on the phone earlier was rather desperate for a tutor- and when I mentioned that I was a high school student attending Yasogami, she practically gave me the job right there. It was... Rather startling to all of a sudden be told to head for a stranger's house.

There was a long pause of silence as the three of us stared at one another. Kikyo Nakajima, the woman who was on the phone, and I stared at her son while the young boy stared at me. Well, "stare" was a polite way of saying it. It felt to me as if the boy was inspecting me with his eyes, as if trying to determine whether or not I was suited for him. It almost felt like the table had turned: I was the child and he was the menacing teacher, glaring at me to set authority.

"...I'm Shu Nakajima. Nice to meet you" the boy finally introduced, breaking the silence. His voice was nazily and rather high pitched, truly showing his age. Hearing it, I felt my body relax, finally breaking free from his intimidation. It was then that I started to notice his features: straight, short brown hair, relaxed brown eyes hiding behind blue rectangular glasses. He was wearing a blue-collared shirt with folded short sleeves, black pants, and plain white socks.

Nakajima chuckled somewhat awkwardly, swatting her hand gently to catch my attention, and began to ramble: "I'm sorry, he's just a shy boy. But he's so smart, you know? He got the highest score in his class on his last test, and the teacher-"

"Mom!" Shu suddenly whined, interrupting his mother. He bore a face of exhaustion and frustration, showing signs that this wasn't the first time his mother had spoken so fondly about him in front of other people. He didn't necessarily looked embarrassed, but based on his tone, I can safely assume that he was. "...E-Enough of that. We're going to study now, so get out."

"Oh, of course, dear. I don't want to bother you while you're learning. But still..." Nakajima began. Not wanting there to be any more tension between Shu and his mother, I turned to her and bowed my head slightly.

"Don't worry, Nakajima-san. I'll do my best to help Shu-kun" I said with utmost care. Looking over at Shu, I slipped in an introduction.

"Hitomi-chan, was it?" Nakajima hummed, sounding a little grateful by my manners. "I hear Yasogami High's scores are starting to climb up there. Shu's already in his second year of middle school, so we need to start thinking of applying to high schools. Well, knowing him, I'm not worried about getting into a good school. But, when it's time for college..." I nodded, understanding where she was coming from. If Mimi does a good job in her classes, it's only natural that I start looking for exceptional middle schools.

"Mom! That's enough, I said...!" Shu suddenly squeaked, the embarrassed tone finally revealing itself.

"Oh, my. I guess you're right. Well, then, Hitomi-chan, please make sure you teach him well" Nakajima instructed with a smile. I nodded in reply. "Study hard, Shu-chan, okay?"

With that, Nakajima left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Officially, the tutoring session had begun. However, Shu seemed to show no interest in learning anything from me. Not that I would blame him... After all, I didn't even bring a single study book with me.

"...Just so you know, I have no interest at all in trying to get into Yasogami High School. You're just the only tutor I can find who could start right now, okay?" Shu growled in a clear voice, returning to his once intimidating nature. "...Do you have a problem?"

I shook my head, muttering,"No, I... Just listening. Don't want to miss anything." Shu sighed, as if disappointed in my response.

"Man... I really hope you're not gonna suck at this. You'll need actual brains, lady, not just looks for this job" Shu remarked, glancing at me once again. I felt a little twitch tickle my face, a little offended by his comment.

"I won't let you or your mother down" I replied firmly, lowering my head slightly to appear somewhat intimidating. I was the adult figure in the room at the moment and I deserve respect from someone several years my junior!

For a moment, there was a look of surprise etched on Shu's face, before he glanced away with a 'hmph'.

"Then, what should we start with? I don't have any subjects that I'm particularly bad at" Shu asked, sounding rather cocky. I twitched once again, but in a different way; a bead of sweat rolling down my face. I didn't have any subjects planned because I didn't even know how old the student I was going to be tutoring was!

"Um... How about English?" I suggested, thinking that the subject would still be rather difficult for this intellectual manchild. And... it was the only one I had confidence in teaching- even without a book.

"...Fine" Shu sighed, sounding somewhat serious for a change.

Despite the small attitude Shu seems to have, he really is a smart kid. He grasps the concepts quickly and answers the problems I have for him in no time at all. Before I could even comprehend it, the two of us became rather comfortable and managed to move onto different subjects.

"...That's enough for today. It's getting late" Shu suddenly announced, putting his pencil down.

"Huh?" Blinking in surprise I pulled out my iPhone to check the time. It was 9:25 pm. "Oh, you're right...!" Feeling rather embarrassed, I brushed my skirt and stood up properly, no longer leaning over Shu's shoulder.

"We'll continue next time" Shu hummed, looking over the amount of paper he filled out during our four hour session together. I nodded, typing a note to myself on my cellular device.

"You were a good tutor. It was easy for me to understand what you were talking about" Shu admitted, causing me to blink in surprise and look at him. Facing towards me, his face flushed and glanced away. "...I'm sure my natural intelligence had something to do with that as well, of course. You're more than welcome to come again whenever you have the time. I'll keep working at my own pace, as well. So, uh...Please come teach me again."

I blinked in surprise, a little shocked that he was comfortable with me. I was honored, of course, but he seemed to show no sign of growing close with me the moment I stepped into his room. Perhaps... I misunderstood him. Underneath all that talk of being a high intellectual, he is just a kid trying to get used to other people. I feel like I understood Shu a little more, creating an almost visible bond...

"Of course. I look forward to working with you in the future" I replied politely, keeping things professional.

"Cool. So... Goodbye" Shu hummed, glancing away sheepishly. I felt the corner of my lips twitch, something tickling in my throat. With that, I exited Shu's room, bid farewell to Nakajima, and made my way to the Dojima residence.

* * *

Over at the Dojima's...

3rd POV

Nanako was eating her dinner with her father, all the while watching her favorite anime, "Love-Line: The Magical Detective!". Despite spending some time with her father, Nanako couldn't help but feel rather... Uneasy, for the lack of a better term. Eating dinner late at night, in silence, while watching television was something that Nanako used to do in the previous years. But this year has been different. There was a new addition to the family; an addition that Nanako was very fond- and worried- of. Her older cousin, Hitomi Narukami, for whatever reason unknown to her, was out rather late tonight. Nanako couldn't help but fidget as she ate, glancing over to the clock in the living room. It was almost 10 pm, and still no sign of Hitomi.

Noticing the discomfort the girl was unconsciously displaying, Dojima tried to think of something to talk about it. After all, he was with his beloved daughter. He then recalled the text message he got from Hitomi the other day, saying that Nanako came home drenched form the sudden summer downpour.

"I, uh, heard you came home drenched yesterday. What happened to your umbrella?" Dojima asked. There was a soft tone of authority in his voice, one that made Nanako tense up. Fidgeting, she poked at her dinner, mustering up the courage. It was so easy for her to admit that she had lost the thing when telling Hitomi. Whether it was because Hitomi was much more understanding than her father or because she was a girl, Nanako did not know.

"Um... I think I lost it" Nanako mumbled, trying to avoid aggravating her father.

"Aw come on, really? We just bought that thing for you" Dojima sighed, sounding upset. Nanako's tension vanished and was replaced with guilt.

"I know, sorry..." Nanako mumbled her appetite suddenly vanishing. The room seemed rather gloomy, like before in the past...

"Hey there, I'm back..." a familiar voice called out, causing Nanako to spring up in glee. Running over to the front entrance, Nanako smiled happily at the sight of Hitomi taking off her shoes with ease.

"Yay, you're home!" Nanako chirped, grabbing hitomi's attention. Hitomi walked past nanako, petting her head as she walked by, stopping shortly at the sight of Dojima.

"Well now, you were out late" Dojima remarked, raising a brow. Hitomi blinked, her expression blank as usual, before humming a tune that almost sounded like realization.

"Yeah... I was" Hitomi mumbled, making her way upstairs to her bedroom. Nanako stared after Hitomi, sadness and disappointment pinching her heart. She was hoping to talk with her older cousin to ease the tension between her and her father. But it seems that she will have to endure it tonight...

* * *

Monday, August 8th | Early Evening...

After a long day of working on summer work and tending the garden, Hitomi found herself excusing herself from eating dinner with Nanako after preparing a meal and heading to Aiya's Chinese dinner. Sure, Hitomi would love to eat dinner at the Dojima residence with her beloved cousin, but time was running short for her to prepare Shu's lesson. Since Nanako didn't want Hitomi to be in her room all day, she kept asking her to do stuff with her. An innocent gesture, but sadly caused some problems with Hitomi. Hitomi could still remember Nanako's disappointed and worried expression as she entered the restaurant. But that memory soon vanished when two familiar people caught Hitomi's undivided attention. The lighting wasn't as powerful as at the front of the restaurant, but Hitomi could tell who's head of dark blue hair it was anywhere.

"Kou-chan, Chou-chan. Didn't think I'd see you two here" Hitomi called out, walking over to their table near the back of the room. Kou looked over at Hitomi and smiled, looking excited to have another familiar face. Chou on the other hand... Looked somewhat different. Although, Hitomi couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

"Hey, it's Hitomi-chan! Wassup, girl?!" Chou greeted loudly, surprising Hitomi a bit. It wasn't like Chou to be so... aggressive when greeting people.

"Nothing much... What's up with you? You're acting all funny" Hitomi pointed out, glancing over at Kou who had a worn out but entertained expression.

"PSH! Me? FUNNY?! No way, girrrrrrrl!" Chou suddenly shouted, her words slurred a little.

"Man, to think that you'd be a fun drunk, Chou" Kou chuckled weakly, sounding almost sarcastic.

"Huh? Chou-chan's drunk?" Hitomi asked in surprise, taking a seat next to Kou.

"No I ainnnn't!" Chou argued, her face finally revealing her red color from the alcohol.

"She totally is" Kou sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Aki said that there was this dish they serve here for a limited time during the summer. He said something that sorta set her off competitively, and now... This happened. It was funny at first, but watching Chou after a while becomes kinda tiring."

"Was there alcohol in the meal?" Hitomi asked, wanting to make sure that her friend didn't just straight up drink alcohol.

"Yep- something that Aki didn't tell us. Thank God that I didn't order it too..." Kou sighed, worried that she'd become one of those "bad drunks".

"I don't know what you two IDIOTS over there are talkin' about, but I AIN'T. DRUNK. It's against my FUGGIN' RELIGION" Chou snapped, slamming her hand down on the table. Despite being right in front of her friends, she somehow couldn't comprehend everything that they were saying.

"Chou, you don't have a religion..." Kou pointed out in a deadpan tone. Chou groaned, as if in disappointment, causing Hitomi to wonder what that dish was.

"Jesus, I can hear you all the way in the bathroom, Chou..." a familiar voice grumbled with a sigh. Hitomi turned around and blinked in surprise, a little stunned to see Aki Ebihara.

"Aki-kun...!" Hitomi gasped, softly. Aki blinked in surprise at the silver haired girl before flashing a bright smile.

"Hey, long time no see! What are you doing here?" Aki asked happily as he took his seat next to Chou who squirmed like a dancing snake.

"Well, I'm working as a tutor for this boy, but I can't let my relatives know. So after cooking dinner, I excused myself to eat here while I prepare the lesson" Hitomi explained, cutting out the unnecessary bits and pieces.

"Huh? You're working?!" Kou exclaimed, catching Hitomi's attention. "Augh, I'm so jealous! I still haven't finished my homework, so Chou won't let me out of the house! The things I would DO for a job right now!"

"Oh, really now~? Would you do anything...?" Aki cooed seductively, resting his chin in the palm of his right hand. Kou blinked in surprise then blushed a furious red.

"Sh-Shut up, you! When you say it like that, it sounds all gross! Idiot! Pervert!" Kou snapped, grabbing the salt shaker next to her.

"Well, it was your fault for sending mixed signals like that in the first place..." Aki booed, a little hurt that Kou called him all those mean things.

"No, it is not! You're just a pervert!" Kuo snapped again, causing Aki to smile with tinted pink cheeks.

"You're cute when you're angry~" Aki chuckled, causing Kou to gasp.

"Sh-Shut up!" Kou squeaked, shaking the salt shaker in front of her. Aki laughed before looking over at Hitomi who was observing the events as silent and poker face as usual.

"Anyways, how much are you making for this tutoring job of yours, Hitomi?" Aki asked. Hitomi hummed in thought when Akira suddenly walked over to them with a bowl of noodles that had a rather sweet yet tangy smell. Hitomi could feel herself becoming lightheaded as Akira placed the bowl in front of Aki before leaving.

"Um... I think 10,000 a lesson" Hitomi finally replied, shaking off the distracting smell.

"I feel like a 10,000 bill right NOW!" Chou squealed, throwing her head back. Kou and Aki groaned, Aki pushing the bowl towards Chou.

"Okay you, just keep eating so you can stop screaming..." Aki sighed, Chou eagerly taking the chopsticks and began eating.

"Why are you even working in the first place? Did something happen?" Kou asked, the thought suddenly crossing her mind. Kou suddenly gasped, her face paling as she grabbed Hitmi by the shoulders. "Do you need money for meds? I can totally give you some right now if that's the case!"

"N-No, no, that's not it..." Hitomi replied, a little surprised by Kou's offer. Once Kou and Aki- who had already pulled out his wallet to help Hitomi, for he too knew about Hitomi's recent incidents- calmed down, Hitomi explained the situation with Nanako and the Love-Line umbrella.

"I see... So that's all it was..." Kou sighed, relieved.

"Gee, you sure are putting a lot of effort into this kid. Just wait until Shiroku restocks them" Aki suggested with a rather bored look on his face. Aki was an only child and despite the fact that he has a large number of younger cousins and nephews, he wouldn't go through so much just to make them happy. Then again, that was one of the things he rather liked about Hitomi.

"No way. Mimi was so happy when she got that umbrella! To see that smile again on her face..." Hitomi began, her words trailing off as her heart throbbed in sadness, images of a crying child flashing in her mind. "I'll do whatever I can for my little sister."

"Okay, now that's how you properly tell someone that you'll do anything for a reason that does not include sexual activity" Aki pointed out, breaking the once serious mood.

"Shut up, Aki!" Kou snapped. "I personally think that you're an awesome older sister for doing this. But there's no way you can get 63,000 yen with that job alone!" Hitomi sighed, nodding knowingly. Hitomi was so startled by the fox and the demand to start working right away that she didn't even look at the other job offerings.

Kou, noticing the rather gloomy atmosphere surrounding her friend, she smiled and patted Hitomi's back, saying; "There's a Daycare nearby where all the little kids go when their parents are busy and can't afford a sitter- the pay is pretty good. Let me call them up, see if one of my friends can get you a job, and then I'll call you." Hitomi perked up instantly, her body filled with new found hope.

"Oh, that would be great, Kou-chan! Thank you so much!" Hitomi squeaked cheerfully, despite her usual blank expression. There were times when Aki and Kou couldn't help but wonder if their silver haired friend was secretly an alien. Or if she secretly wore a face mask all the time. It was amazing to them at how easily Hitomi's voice could reveal her inner emotions and yet not express it...

* * *

Tuesday, August 9th | Evening...

The day had gone by quickly for our silver haired protagonist. She had kept herself busy with Nanako and her summer homework, excusing herself once again when dinner rolled around. She was rather lucky that Dojima would arrive sometime later after she left to begin planning, otherwise... Hitomi would find herself in a troubling position.

"With regards to Question Four, here: why does it use this formula?" Shu asked, pointing at a problem on Hitomi's problem sheet she created for him. Looking at the problem then over at her study book, she leaned over and pointed at the numbers.

"Well, it's because it's easier to apply the numbers like so..." Hitomi began, connecting invisible lines between the numbers. Shu hummed in thought, quickly connecting the process. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Hitomi and Shu looked over, the door opening to reveal Shu's mother.

"Knock knock! I brought some desserts to fill you two up after working so hard" Nakajimi hummed, flashing a smile. Hitomi looked over at Shu. He sighed and nodded, Hitomi returning her attention to Nakajima.

"That's very kind of you, ma'am" Hitomi thanked with a nod of her head.

Nakajima, Shu, and Hitomi all day around Shu's coffee table at the center of his room. After setting up the cushions for them to sit on, Nakajima placed the pre-sliced cheesecake down in front of everyone. Thanking the food, the three ate in silence. Hitomi was used to eating in silence, so it didn't really bothered her. Shu was pretty used to the room being silent, mainly because Hitomi was such a quiet person. Nakajima on the other hand wasn't used to three people eating in the same room. Especially in a quiet room.

"Isn't this cheesecake delicious?" Nakajima asked, breaking the silence. Hitomi nodded, finding it to be rather exceptional. Nakajima smiled and continued, "I bought it from an online shop that's all the rage these days. It's been the top-ranked store for 15 weeks straight. Just like Shu-chan! First place in everything!" Hitomi glanced over at Shu, just in time to notice his grip tightening around his fork.

"...Stop it" Shu mumbled, sounding upset.

"But you're my pride and joy...!" Nakajima protested weakly, sounding a little shocked to have been sassed by her son. Shu didn't reply, causing Hitomi to become slightly uncomfortable.

"So, Hitomi-chan, about Shu... Do you think he could make it into Tokyo University?" Nakajima suddenly asked, noticing Hitomi's discomfort. "I don't want him to ever have any hardship. And once he's in a good college, he's 'set,' right? Everyone has a natural talent. Shu-chan's just happens to be how smart he is! I just want him to go to a good college so he can get a good job, then buy a good house and find a good-"

"Mom!" Shu interrupted, slamming his fists on the table. Noticing the atmosphere he created, Shu forced a small, reassuring smile.

"Don't you worry about me, Mom. I'm always on top. I am right now, and I always will be" Shu added with a rather weak voice. Hitomi picked up on the tone, wondering what could be bothering Shu.

"That's right! He really is the perfect child..." Nakajima sighed, unphased by her son's sudden actions. The three of them continued to eat the cheesecake with Nakajima rambling on about Shu and her husband who works a night shift at the shipyard.

Once they had all finished eating, Nakajima gathered the plates and excused herself to clean them. Hitomi and Shu sat quietly in the room, still sitting around the coffee table. Hitomi didn't want to suddenly suffer going back to work, so she waited for him to say something.

"...If I get into a good college... Am I really 'set'?" Shu suddenly asked, his head casted down. Hitomi took a minute to chose her words.

"...I'm not sure. I personally don't think so" Hitomi replied.

"...How would you know? You're not even in college yet!" Shu snapped, sneering at her. Hitomi nodded in agreement, not affected at all by his tone of voice or attitude. Shu sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't really need to be 'set' just yet. I don't really know what that's supposed to mean, anyway" Shu mumbled, much calmer than before. "...Well, I need to study. There's no point in asking about college unless I'm really smart." Shu is looking down, hiding his expression from Hitomi. Shu didn't know why, but he really appreciated Hitomi's silence. It was much easier for him to express how he felt, despite the fact that she was a stranger and his parents both stayed home during the day.

"'Raison d'etre'... Do you know what that means?" Shu suddenly asked, absentmindedly.

"Of course I do" Hitomi replied confidently. It means "purpose" in French, a word that Shu came across while reading an advanced textbook.

"...I'm surprised. Well, it makes sense, since you're three grades above me" Shu admitted with a nod, as if confirming his statement. "...It's irrelevant. I only have Mom, and the guys at school are all kids..." Hitomi stared at the boy, taking in his words. It seems that Shu has opened his heart to her, if only a little...

Suddenly, a soft beeping sound began, surprising the duo. Hitomi pulled out her iPhone, ending the beeping sound.

"Huh... Time's already up. We were still in the middle of that last question..." Shu grumbled, pouting a little.

Noticing this, Hitomi spoke up, saying, "I'll stay and help you, if you want." Shu blinked in surprise before averting his gaze, blushing sheepishly.

"I don't think you'll get paid overtime if you work after our time is up" Shu chuckled softly, shaking his head. "...But thank you for offering to do that for me." Hitomi nodded, comforting Shu in a way. Once she packed up, she bid farewell to Shu and Nakajima.

On her way to the Dojima residence, Hitomi decided to go through the central shopping district this time in order to find some extra jobs. Suddenly, her iPhone rang. Pulling it out of her pocket, Hitomi gasped softly with eagerness and quickly answered the call.

"Hey, Kou-chan!" Hitomi greeted, sounding a little more cheerful than usual.

"Hey, Hitomi! I have some great news~" Kou sang, causing Hitomi to swallow in suspense. "I managed to get you that job over in the Daycare Center!"

"R-Really? Thank you so much, Kou-chan!" Hitomi squealed, surprisingly ecstatic to have another job. She was used to being a busy body back in the city, working part time jobs to avoid returning home.

"No problem! It turns out that they're short on staff and want you to start tomorrow morning" Kou explained.

"Alright, I'll be there!" Hitomi chirped, shortly ending the phone call. She let out a sigh of relief, glad that she was going to be able to earn more money and hopefully be able to earn just enough money for that umbrella.

As Hitomi walked down the poorly-lit sidewalk, passing by the stores, a hot pink scooter caught the corner of her eyes. Looking up at the building it was parked next to, Hitomi couldn't help but blink in surprise. The scooter was parked next to the Marukyu tofu shop. Hitomi couldn't help but wonder if it was Ryo's scooter and when he managed to get one. Gradually, her steps began to slow down, her feet feeling a little heavier. It had been a while since she properly hanged out with one of her friends... Hitomi felt incredibly lonely and missed hanging out with everyone. The saddened girl couldn't help but sigh in the warm summer air, rather disappointed that summer break would soon end...

* * *

Wednesday, August 10th | Morning...

Hitomi woke up bright and early the next day, eagerly getting ready for her new part-time job. She greatly enjoyed spending time with children- Nanako could even be proof of that. After cooking a hearty breakfast, Hitomi bid farewell to her cousin and drove off to the daycare center on her scooter.

Upon arriving, Hitomi was greeted with many older women and men wearing similar looking aprons. The employees thanked her for working on such short notice and was even more thankful when she turned out to be so young. The daycare supervisor quickly gave Hitomi a schedule that consisted of numerous activities meant for young children that were around Nanako's age. Once she was given her own apron, it was time to start the day.

"Alright children, gather around. I have someone here I'd like you all to meet" the daycare supervisor sang, the young children eagerly running towards him. Once all the kids were present, the supervisor gestured towards hitomi and smiled. "This is Hitomi Narukami. She's going to be working here as a caretaker assistant. Be nice to her, alright?" Hitomi bowed her head, causing the supervisor to smile in gratitude and leave to help out some of the other employees.

Hitomi didn't move, stiff from all the eyes staring at her. It seemed that the children were extremely interested in her rather blank expression.

"Hey lady, do you have a boyfriend?" one boy asked, causing the kids to laugh.

"W-What?" Hitomi stuttered, a little taken back.

"Don't ask her that, you creep!" a girl snapped, several other girls humming in agreement.

"Let's play tag, lady! You're it!" another boy suddenly shouted, the kids cheering with excitement. Filled with energy, Hitomi nodded and pulled out a hair-tie, not wanting her hair to give her a disadvantage.

"Alright, but let's make sure that we're playing safely by the rules" Hitomi instructed, the kids all shouting "Okay!" in unison. The kids then scattered, some heading towards the arts and crafts table to show that they had no interest in playing.

Hitomi ended up playing a good hour of tag, managing to capture each and every child that ran from her. Instead of playing normal tag, were someone else had to be the new chaser, the kids that were tagged would simply sit down and cheer Hitomi on as she chased after the others. Hitomi didn't necessarily mind, especially since she didn't have to tutor Shu that all seemed impressed and gained instant respect for their new caretaker, giving her the title "Big sis". Hitomi was rather pleased by the outcome, understanding that since all the other employees were much older than she was, no one before her had tagged all the children.

After Hitomi had rested up and the children were fed their lunch, the girls asked Hitomi to play with them. They first played house with hitomi as the mother before moving on to a fantasy game. However, the game was cut short when they lacked a crown for the princess. Hitomi made the suggestion of making a flower crown. The girls have never heard of a flower crown before and immediately demanded Hitomi to show them how to make one. With her careful and slow instructions, the kids watched as if mesmerized by her hands, slowly forming a crown using only flowers and their stems.

"...There we go. One flower crown" Hitomi hummed, revealing the final product. The flower crown consisted of many different small wild flowers ranging from many different colors.

"Wow, it's so pretty!" one girl exclaimed in awe.

"Hey, go on and put it on, big sis!" one boy suggested, blushing. The girls nodded and begged Hitomi to put on her creation.

"Oh, I don't know... My hair will make all the pretty colors disappear" Hitomi replied with a sad tone. She was sensitive about her hair and didn't like putting pretty accessories on it. Thus the reason why she had avoided the hair clips Dojima had given her. Looking at the girl who exclaimed earlier, Hitomi extended the flower crown to her.

"Why don't you wear it?" Hitomi offered, earning a surprised gasp from the child.

"R-Really?" the girl, stuttered. Hitomi nodded in reply, earning a smile. The girl gently grabbed the flower crown and placed it on top of her head, the colorful flowers almost shining like jewels on her head of lovely black hair.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"It looks great" Hitomi replied, the other kids shortly agreeing and complimenting the girl.

"Look, you broke it!" a voice suddenly shouted, causing the kids to hush.

"Did not!" another voice argued, causing Hitomi to stand up. Scanning the field, Hitomi quickly found two boys standing quite a distance away, their faces scrunched with anger.

"Boys, what's going on here?" Hitomi asked with a firm voice, running over to them. One boy, whose name was Kaneko Kobayashi, had straight black hair, an unfortunate case of front buck teeth, blue eyes shaped like quail eggs. He was dressed in rather formal clothing, his white collar puff shirt with red bow tie making him look more mature, but his black shorts with a brown belt, long white socks with light black lines, and black shoes showing a much more childish side. The other boy, Yuuta Minami, had short brown hair, brown eyes. He was wearing a blue shirt with thick white and big red stripes, brown short pants, and black shoes.

"Big sis, Yuuta took my Neo Featherman and broke it!" Kaneko quickly explained, pointing at Yuuta. Yuuta gritted his teeth and growled.

"It's not broken! Look, I'll show you!" Yuuta snapped, grabbing hold of the robotic-like action figure in Kaneko's hand.

"W-Wait, stop! If you two continue pulling on it, then it'll just-" Hitomi began, wanting to stop the situation before the toy met a terrible fate...

SNAP!

...But she was too late.

The two boys stared at the now confirmed broken toy in shock. Hitomi stared at the two of them silently, unsure of what to do or what one of them would do next.

"Y-You broke it! You really broke it!" Kaneko stuttered, shocked.

"No, you broke it! You should have let go!" Yuuta barked, his face slightly red with embarrassment and anger. Tears began to well up in Kaneko's eyes as he growled.

"I'm telling on you!" Kaneko shouted, quickly running towards the crafts table where the other caretakers mostly chatted. They didn't usually sit around all day and talk with one another, but all the kid were practically glued to Hitomi or went to her for help, giving them more free time.

"Hey!" Yutta shouted. But Kaneko didn't stop.

Staring after Kaneko as he caught the attention of the caretakers, Hitomi muttered to herself, "...Well, that happened."

"...I didn't break it" Yuuta mumbled under his breath, cheeks puffed out. "Big sis, you saw what happened! You know that I didn't break it!" Hitomi sighed softly and nodded.

"I know, I know. You didn't break it. Don't worry, I believe you" She reassured him. "...But even so, it did break. Which means that both your parents are going to be called here to settle things..."

"P-Parents...?" Yuuta repeated, looking a little pale. Noticing this, Hitomi blinked in surprise.

"Hey, it's alright. I'll be right there with you, okay?" she reassured, petting his head. Yuuta's eyes narrowed in relief and fear, nodding in reply. He was grateful that she would stand besides him, but the fact that his parents were coming... it wasn't a good sign.

Just as Hitomi said, the father's of Yuuta and Kaneko shortly arrived after being called. It was slightly amusing and somewhat scary to see how well the two children represented their respective father. Like Kaneko, his father had rather unfortunate feature such as a large stomach, straight black hair styled in a bowl haircut and fairly small eyes. Dressed in a traditional kimono, he practically breathed wealth. Yuuta's father on the other hand was a rather handsome gentleman with light brown hair slicked back, revealing his hazel eyes. His lean body was tucked in quite nicely in his formal suit that made him appear almost humble, unlike Kaneko's father.

"I am so sorry about this" Yuuta's father apologized with a bow after hearing the situation from one of the supervisors. Hitomi stood besides a pouting Yuuta, feeling a little nervous that no one had asked her what happened, despite it being known that she was the first-hand witness.

"Augh, it's beyond repair!" Kaneko's father groaned in frustration, holding the broken toy in one hand as if it were nothing but garbage now.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to..." Yuuta's father muttered, appearing and sounding very weak. Kaneko's father clicked his tongue and placed a hand on his hip.

"I hope you know that I'm expecting you to replace it" he growled.

"Of course we will..." Yuuta's father replied, his eyes downcast. Hitomi was surprised at how... passive the man was.

"But... I didn't break it...!" Yuuta mumbled, angrily. Yuuta's father glanced at Yuuta before bowing once again.

"Look, once again, I'm very sorry-" he began.

"Please wait" Hitomi suddenly spoke out, catching the men's attention. "I will pay for the new figurine."

"What?" Yuuta's father exclaimed softly, sounding surprised.

"I'm the one who broke it- it wasn't the children" she explained, glancing at the two boys. They both looked rather surprised by my claim, but Yuuta seemed also a bit happy that she was basically standing up for him.

Turning her attention to Kaneko's father, she bowed slightly, asking him: "So, tell me what I owe you." Kaneko's father stared at Hitomi for a moment, bewildered by her determination to pay. But he shrugged, shortly pulling out a calculator. After a moment, the silence creating suspension, he showed Hitomi the result: 68,000 yen. There was a small pause as Hitomi stared at the numbers.

"Alright, I'll be sure to pay you back in full as soon as I can" she replied as calmly, despite the nervous sweat pouring from her skin.

"You better. These kinds of things are very expensive... The longer you make me wait, the higher the price will go!" Kaneko's father threatened.

"I understand, sir" Hitomi replied firmly. However, she was actually shaking deep within her soul. So much so that her persona's probably felt her shaking.

* * *

Evening...

Over at the Dojima residence, Nanako watched her favorite quiz show as she usually did during the evenings. However, she had a hard time focusing on the questions, fidgeting once again as she sneaked several glances over at the clock. It had gotten late again and Hitomi had yet to return home. Nanako let out a soft sigh as the quiz show went into commercial break, her mind fogged with worried thoughts.

Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening rang in Nanako's ears and immediately, she jumped up. Looking over at the front hall, Nanako saw Hitomi holding a textbook in one arm as she removed her shoes.

"Yay, you're home!" Nanako cheered as she ran over to her older cousin. Hitomi nodded and patted Nanako's head, continuing forward to return to her room for the day. Nanako felt a little tug inside her chest, worry building up inside her.

"There's dinner, uh, do you want me to warm it up?" Nanako suddenly asked, wanting Hitomi to stay downstairs and spend time with her. Hitomi stopped in her tracks and looked at Nanako with her usual blank face.

"Thanks, but... I already ate. Sorry" Hitomi replied, sounding apologetic. Nanako pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze to the floor in disappointment.

"Oh... Well, okay then" Nanako mumbled. Hitomi felt a little bad to leave Nanako in the dark like that, but she didn't have much choice. She began to walk up the stairs before suddenly stopping.

"...Hey, Mimi? Have you ever heard of Neo Featherman?" Hitomi asked, catching Nanako's attention. There was that name again. Mimi. Nanako felt a bead of sweat roll down her jaw, nervous to say anything about it. She didn't want what had happened last time to repeat itself again... It frightened her just to think about it.

"Huh? O-Of course, everyone knows him" Nanako replied, sounding as if nothing had bothered her.

"They do, huh? Heros these days sure aren't what they used to be..." Hitomi mumbled to herself before continuing upstairs. Nanako watched Hitomi from the living room, pressing her lips together once again. She had so many questions to ask... Who was Mimi? Was she someone important to Hitomi? Why all of a sudden has she sticked to calling her Mimi?

Nanako didn't mind when Hitomi called her Mimi the first few times, since she would go straight back to calling her by her actual name. But now... It seemed as if Hitomi was trapped and couldn't escape... Like her brain had stopped processing reality.

Big Sis sure is acting strange, lately..., Nanako thought to herself. With a disappointed sigh, she turned back to the table and made her way back to watch the quiz show. It was a very lonely, and quiet evening for Nanako.

* * *

Thursday, August 11th | Evening...

"This forms a circle here, with a radius equal to the base of the triangle... and the height is... uh..." Shu hummed, lost in the math equation Hitomi had written for him.

"You're on the right track, Shu-kun. Remember the previous problem? It sort of applies to this one as well..." Hitomi began to explain, pointing at the previous problem. Shu hummed in thought, slowly writing out equations and numbers that he thought would work. However, for the first time since the beginning of the tutoring sessions, Shu actually struggled to put two and two together. Hitomi couldn't help but feel victorious, knowing something that Shu didn't. However, it was her job to teach him, which she did. Within a few minutes, Shu had gotten the jist of the problem.

"...Hey, Shu-kun? What's school like for you?" Hitomi suddenly asked, wanting to take a small break.

"Huh? Why do you care?" Shu asked, sounding a little annoyed yet happy.

"Well, I'm only a transfer student over at Yasogami. I attended most of my school years over in the city" she explained, painful memories of those years resurfacing.

"Oh... You're a transfer student, huh?" Shu hummed. He then gasped, continuing,"Speaking of which, there's a transfer student in my class. He looks down on everything here and says we're all a bunch of hicks living in the boonies. Everyone ignores him..."

"Well, it is the countryside... A friend of mine sorta had a similar attitude when he moved here- although, I'm pretty sure he kept it to himself." Hitomi felt a warm feeling wash over her at the thought of her friend, Yosuke. It had been a while since they last hung out - properly that is - and missed him dearly.

"Haha... I guess that makes sense" Shu chuckled softly. He was rather interested in the transfer student- not that he would admit it out loud. "I guess being out here is like being the proverbial 'frog in the well.' Oh, uh...That's what he said. That he was the frog because he, uh...That he's from the city, and out here is the country, and, uh..."

"I get it, there's no need to explain" Hitomi reassured, Shu's face gradually turning red with embarrassment. "Now, let's return to that earlier problem you were struggling with."

* * *

Friday, August 12th | Evening...

Hitomi's POV

I sat nervously in my room, two small vanilla envelope holding my first payment from Nakajima and the Daycare Center. I felt my hands clam with sweat, my left eyebrow twitching. This was it... The moment of truth...

Slowly and with the utmost care, I began to open the envelopes and pull out the money from inside; counting them and stacking the respective bills on top of each other. My hands began to shake as I continued to pull out more and more, the money flow soon coming to a stop.

Counting the total up, I felt my entire body beginning to sweat, my pajamas starting to stick to my skin.

"...This is it?" I mumbled to myself, staring at the relatively short stack of cash.

I was in shock. You have got to be kidding me... Both my pay from tutoring Sho and working at the Daycare center add up perfectly to 38,000 yen... Even if I put what money I have left, I'll still have to work for a couple more days before I can pay off Kaneko's father!

Letting out a groan of exhaustion, I threw my head back, letting it rest on my couch cushion. At this rate, I'm not going to be able to pay for the umbrella!

Curse you... Neo Featherman! It's not heroic to steal money from the poooooooorrrrr...!

* * *

Saturday, August 13th | Evening...

I let out a long and heavy sigh as the sound of my own footsteps echo in the humid, summer night air. My legs ached and was heavier than usual, just like when I helped out Kou and Chou before the summer, thanks to my hard work at the daycare center. It was a little difficult today, thanks to Kaneko attempting to blackmail me in playing with him more to keep the debut I owed at the minimum. Of course, Yuuta felt guilty and started acting as my bodyguard... Things didn't go well from there. I'm rather grateful to my supervisor for allowing me to leave early while still being promised to receive full pay.

Approaching the Dojima Residence, I notice that Dojima's car was parked. I couldn't help but shiver, feeling nervous about my pain relievers being discovered by Dojima. I'm not sure how he'll react to the whole ordeal, but I'd rather not find out...

With a hesitant hand, I unlocked the front door and opened it, weakly calling out: "I'm back..."

Upon hearing me, Mimi immediately ran over to me and smiled. I nodded at her and patted her head. Together, the two of us walked to the living room where Dojima sat in front of the couch as usual.

"Hey, welcome home" Dojima greeted with a smile, looking over at me. I nodded, shortly noticing something- or rather, someone- sitting opposite of where I usual sat. Popping his head out for me to see, I couldn't help but blink in surprise.

"Adachi-san...! It's been a while" I exclaimed. Adachi smiled, looking rather pleased with my greeting.

"Haha, it sure has! Glad to know you haven't forgotten about me" Adachi laughed, half-jokingly. Mimi suddenly pulled on my arm and ran over to her seat across the table and Dojima, bouncing happily.

"Look, Big Sis! Daddy brought home a big catch!" she giggled, bouncing one last time before settling down like a mature adult. On the table was a rather big, elegant, black circle case filled with sushi varying many different types. The white rice seemed shinier than usual, practically sparkling like pearls alongside their fishy companions which had a nice, crystal-like glaze to it. I never understood how restaurants managed to make their food look so much more appealing than what they actually taste... Well, not all of them, at least.

"Oh, sushi, huh?" I hummed, growing somewhat hungry. The display of fatty tuna reminded me of my Aiko figurine in my room. It must be a special occasion today...

"What's with the bag?" Dojima suddenly asked, snapping me back to reality. I raised my left arm, fully showing the white Junes bag I was carrying. After working today at the daycare, I decided to make another visit to the bulletin board with numerous job offerings and their contact information. Working those two jobs alone wasn't going to get me the right amount of money that I needed. But I won't be able to work outside the Dojima residence with how late Nanako stays up and with the possibility of encountering Dojima. Luckily for me, as if it was placed there by God, I found two jobs where I could simply work at home for a low pay: translating things from Japanese to English and making envelopes. It was easy cash depending on how hard I worked and it would certainly give me the boost I need in order to pay off both Kaneko's father and buy the special Love-Line umbrella.

"Oh, this... They're just some things I need for my summer homework" I explained, making sure that every words I said was firm and didn't reek of a lie. This wasn't necessarily a lie as translating will certainly help me for English class and making envelopes can help my diligence... Somehow. Dojima seemed to have bought it, humming and nodding in reply.

"Have you been doing your summer homework too, M i m i?" Dojima asked, his voice for some reason sounding scratchy... and almost inaudible to my ears when he uttered Mimi's name.

"Mhm! Sometimes Big Sis even helps me out with it!" Mimi replied happily. Dojima smiled, possibly pleased that Mimi was doing such a swell job taking care of herself.

"Well, isn't that nice of you" Adachi pitched in, flashing me a goofy grin. I can tell that he meant well when he said that, but for some reason, I felt a hint of menace hidden within his voice. As if... Almost as if he was unhappy by my actions.

Feeling a bit awkward with my Junes bag, I bowed slightly and muttered, "If you'll excuse me, I need to put this away." Dojima and Mimi nodded, Adachi handing out different cans of drinks. The one he kept and the one he gave Dojima are most likely alcohol...

I quickly went upstairs and placed my Junes bag on top of my coffee table, too tired and lazy to properly take out its continents and store the plastic bag somewhere for future use. It has been rather exhausting lately... But maybe it's just because of the pain relievers.

Closing the door to my room, I quickly returned to the living room, hungry for the splendid sushi. Much to my surprise, the two grown men were already bright faced with, Dojima drowning out the current can he held... Much to my surprise, there were already three empty canned drinks besides him. He's drunk already? Whatever this celebration is for, it must be something really special... Or Dojima reallllllllly wants to have a good time. Not wanting to keep them all waiting, I quickly sat down, acting as a trigger for Mimi and I to give thanks to the food and start eating.

"Wow, what a great spread! I've never seen so many pieces of fatty tuna!" Adachi sighed, drool already forming at the edge of his mouth as he picked up his chopsticks. I nodded in agreement, taking a yellowtail sushi from the container. Taking a bite, I was immediately hit with a reasonable amount of wasabi, giving the yellow tail a nice partner that really unravels the freshness of the ingredients. I'm beginning to wonder where Dojima bought this... and how much it costed.

"Now what's this I hear? Is it true you've been coming home late all the time?" Dojima asked loudly, pointing his can at me. Surprised, I quickly swallowed the food and blinked in surprise.

"Uh, w-well... Yeah, it is" I replied, nervously. Dojima made a face accompanied with a strange grunt, almost as if he was surprised to hear my admit my guilt. Glancing away, I ate the rest of my yellow-tail just as Mimi suddenly flinched, tears welling up in her eyes. Dojima grunted, asking her what was wrong.

"My last bite... had wasabi in it" Mimi whimpered, sniffling. Dojima laughed in reply, finding the whole commotion amusing.

"Uh-oh! Did you forget to wipe it off first? Silly, here I'll do it for you. Which one do you want?" Dojima asked, smiling brightly. It was a rather unusual sight for me, seeing Dojima smile so wide, especially with his face so red from the alcohol. Glancing over at Adachi, I noticed that he didn't look as bad as Dojima. Although, his cheeks were slightly pink... but I'm assuming that just form the alcohol.

"Halibut!" Mimi chirped.

"Excellent taste, M i m i-chan! I'm telling you, you're like a grown up!" Adachi sang, his eyes carefully scanning the sushi. I couldn't help but blink in surprise. Again, just like Dojima, when it came to Mimi's name... "Now, I'm taking... this one!"

Adachi suddenly grabbed the lonesome uni piece, raising it high above the table as if it were a lion cub about to be crowned prince.

"What the hell?! They only gave us one piece of uni!" Dojima barked, slamming his now empty can down on the table. It was rather interesting to see Dojima display such upstaged behavior... Especially since he hadn't even picked up his chopsticks yet.

"Hey, don't get mad at me! First come, first serve" Adachi laughed victoriously, proudly shoving the uni into his mouth. Dojima, possibly finding Adachi's words a treat and picked up his chopsticks, grabbing a piece scallop.

"Careful, rookie!" Dojima growled, shoving the food into his mouth. Mere seconds later, as if he had swallowed the whole things, turned to me and asked: "Now- back to you! Why have ya been acting so weird lately?" I felt sweat roll down my jaw, hoping that -even when drunk- Dojima would stay clueless when it comes to teenager and their activities. "Don't tell me you got yourself a boyfriend? After all that crap you went through with the first guy, you go and break the promise we made about tellin' me first?!"

...Well, I suppose that clears things up.

"I don't... have a boyfriend" I replied in a rather monotone voice.

"Ease up there, Dojima" Adachi remarked, his joyful and rather carefree tone replaced with one that sounded weak but serious. "Look, I'm glad the case is solved too, but lay-off the booze."

"Hey, you!" Dojima barked at me, ignoring Adachi who couldn't help and sigh at his treatment. "If it isn't some boy, then what is keeping you out so late?" I let out a soft sigh, pondering on what to say. I want to surprise Mimi with her new umbrella, but I don't want to lie to Dojima again... If I say anything about the daycare, Dojima might suddenly sober up and scold me.

Coming to a decision, I took a deep breath and explained: "...The truth is, I met this fox and it told me to become a tutor. It's caused a lot of problems..."

...There was a moment of silence, nothing to be heard beside from the TV which played an infomercial about a health product. Maybe... I shouldn't have mentioned the fox?

"Pft-HAHAHAHAHAHAH! You're a real riot, Hitomi, I never knew that about you!" Dojima suddenly roared, laughing violently. I stared at the man blankly, a little... hurt maybe that he simply laughed at my genuine honesty. But I'll just... pin it as a drunk response.

"He's right! Man, you're freaking hysterical!" Adachi added, smiling. I think that Adachi actually somewhat believed me... Which I'm grateful for.

"I don't get it..." Mimi hummed, sounding unsure. At this, I finally cracked and felt my face heat up in embarrassment.

"Just... forget I said anything..." I muttered, picking up a tuna. Adachi chuckled at my response, Dojima finally losing his breath and calming down.

Adachi suddenly gasped and took a drink, pointing at the T.V and exclaiming: "Oh hey, it's about the case!" Blinking in surprise, I turned my attention to the T.V just in time to see a familiar news anchorman appear on the screen with a picture of Mitsuo Kubo in the upper right corner.

" _ **'I didn't care who it was', 'I was pissed off.' 'I wanted to be famous'**_ " the announcer began. " ** _The suspect was often heard saying these things...The young suspect has confessed to being the culprit behind the recent cases, but he's shown no remorse so far. Because of several inconsistencies in the boy's deposition, some have called for a mental examination to be carried out. Until then, the police will be continuing their investigation to shed light on all the prior incidents._** "

So that's it, huh...? Kubo confessed to the killings, just like in that weird dream I had. He even admitted that he was the one behind it all... Pursing my lips together as I swallowed the bits of rice and raw fish, I began to wonder: was I wrong in the end? Could my theory about Morooka's death being nothing more than a copycat killing be wrong? I would be relieved if I was wrong- honestly, I would. But... At the same time, people's lives have changed after these killings. Like Yosuke's and Naoki's... I don't want them to be in pain. To only find out that who they put all the blame and hate for their loved one wasn't the real person. That it was just a puppet being pulled by another. But I... also don't want to persist on it. After all, it may seem like I actually enjoy all this stuff. Sighing silently, I rubbed my forehead before taking another sushi. I can't think about any of that stuff for a while... Not with my worn out mind.

"It was actually really tough to make a case out of this" Adachi suddenly began, causing me to nearly drop my crab meat sushi. "All we had was the suspect's confession and some circumstantial evidence. But the lab found the perp's prints on the victim's clothes, so we made it stick after all."

"Prints...?" I repeated softly. That's new... fingerprints, huh? It's been awhile since I've seen the previous victim reports, but I don't think that...

"Man, isn't crime scene investigation something? Who would've thought you could get viable prints from cloth?" Adachi suddenly chuckled, distracting me. He suddenly looked at me and smiled, causing my body to shiver and glance away. Something felt... off about that smile. Actually... Hasn't Adachi been smiling at me a lot this evening? But maybe that's part of my imagination...

"There's no more scary stuff to worry about. You're safe now" Dojima reassured Mimi, sounding almost sober. Mimi smiled back and nodded, looking happy that things have finally settled down.

"Man, that guy was twisted. A high schooler committing multiple murders and leaving the bodies like that... He was over the edge. Good thing we caught him!" Adachi hummed as he happily ate. "Now I can stop seeing suspects in every shadow! If the killer was still on the loose..."

"Enough, Adachi! If you keep running your mouth, the sushi's gonna dry up!" Dojima barked, causing Adachi to flinch.

"Oh, you're right. Sorry!" he apologized quickly, grabbing another piece of sushi and shoving it into his mouth. I stared at Adachi for a while, taking in his words before eating as well. It's been awhile since dinner has been this lively...

* * *

Monday, August 15th

3rd POV

Nanako Dojima stood nervously in the middle of her room. She was staring at a boxed package, once containing a costume, that she is now wearing. A blue and black sherlock-holmes hat, a pink shoulder-length cape, a brown sweater, black gloves, a pink skirt, and pink shoes. It was her favorite anime character, Magical Detective Love-Line, costume. She managed to get her dad to buy it for her last night without asking any questions. It was only a rental for a few days, anyway, so the price was fairly cheap.

Nanako felt a little silly wearing her outfit, but at the same time felt rather brave. She was worried about her older cousin, who have been acting very strange lately. First, calling her "Mimi", then coming home late. She used to stay home all day and do work with her... But now, she goes out early in the morning. She's been acting suspiciously... And Nanako thought it was time to find out what's been going on. Taking a deep breath, she striked a pose similarly to the character- holding up the large magical magnifying glass that seemed almost like a dog, to which was named Assistant Sherlock Bow-Wow in the anime.

"I think it's investigation time! I'm the magical detective, Love-Line!" Nanako cheered, pushing the button of Sherlock Bow-Wow's bow, causing a catchy jingle to play and for his eyes to glow.

"We're on the case!" it cheered, a poor British accent coming from it. Nanako beamed at Assistant Sherlock Bow-Wow, giddy with excitement. She then charged out of her room and rushed to the front door- carefully closing it and locking it after her. She then peaked out to the road leading downhill, where she can see Hitomi casually walking in the far distance. Nanako couldn't help but instinctively feel concerned upon seeing her older cousin's silhouette. She barely ate breakfast earlier and slowly made her way out the house, as if heavy chains were locked to her ankles and slowing her down. Even from afar, she almost looked like a zombie from the movies with the way her head slowly shifted from side to side. Nanako shook her head and began jog down the hill to try and catch up with Hitomi. She had to focus!

Reaching the bottom of the hill, Nanako managed to catch up to Hitomi- a good 200 feet away in distance- and decided to hide behind a residential area fence. Poking her head out from behind the fence, she watched Hitomi walk with intensity- one that would seem almost terrifying on an adult. But it was rather cute coming from such a small child with big, brown eyes.

"Oh, hi! What are you doing there, Nana-chan?" a chipper voice loudly asked, startling Nanako and earning a yelp. She turned around and saw Berry, dressed in her casual outfit. Berry looked up from Nanako and noticed Hitomi, her face beaming with excitement.

Waving her hands in the air, she called out, "Hey, Sen-!"

"Be quiet, Berry!" Nanako shushed, pulling Berry to the side, the fence blocking the two from sight.

Berry blinked in confusion. "Be quiet? What for?"

"Because I'm tailing her...!" Nanako replied with a soft voice, putting a finger to her lips- indicating that Berry should speak softly as well. "Big Sis has been acting really weird for a while... But now, she's being extra weird and won't even play with me. I gotta find out what's going on!"

"Oh, okie-dokie!" Berry huffed with a determined nod, feeling "pumped up"- as Nise would have said- from Nanako's serious attitude. Berry sniffed the air like a dog before pointing over to the left with a look in her eyes. "Ah! She went this way! My sniffer never leaves me astray!"

Nanako blinked and pointed behind her with a thumb, shyly stating, "But we just saw her go that way..."

"Nope, this way! Trust me!" Berry reassured, grabbing Nanako's hand and leading the two towards the direction she pointed. After a bit of walking, the two found themselves at the North Central Shopping District. Berry gasped and rushed towards the Souzai Daigaku, practically smacking her face on the display shelf that presented freshly cooked skewers of different varieties.

"Ohohohoho! I think I'll have to grow myself an extra stomach if I want to put a dent in all this!" Berry giggled, excitedly.

"Where's Big Sis?" Nanako asked, nervously. She was a bit embarrassed to be seen in her costume by an adult- the shopkeeper- who looked rather startled and just as nervous as her by Berry's ramblings.

"Berry... Come on..." Nanako whined, tugging at Berry's skirt. But Berry was too busy rambling about her savings and determining how much she should spend on the food. Nanako sighed, knowing that she had lost Hitomi by now. "I think we lost her now... We'll have to try again tomorrow."

After eating some steak skewers with Berry, who paid for the meal as an apology for not really helping this time, Nanako went home for the day.


	23. Updates! Important updates!

Hello, everyone! Author here~

I just wanted to inform all of you still reading my Persona 4: Eyes of Truth fanfic that I am going to be rewriting it! Having posted this fic on multiple websites, I learned the proper way to handle it and give it a better flow for the online community. I have also grown quite a bit as a writer and I sort of want to show it off o/w/o

And, to my surprise, there are still people discovering my stories! Maybe not on _this_ website, but definitely on others. And for those newcomers, I want to make a better impression of myself. So, yeah! Expect that!

If you want to see some pictures drawn by a talented friend of mine while reading, I suggest making you way over to my Wattpad! Thank you so much, all you loyal fans who have been waiting anxiously for me to update, and I promise to make it up to you by updating in the future once I start publishing the new and improved chapters! Much love to you all!

\- Phantom


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